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Opinion
Gold Coast have now completed 11 seasons in the AFL competition, and if you were writing home about them, you wouldn’t need much ink or paper. The Suns highest placed finish is 12th (even that was seven years ago), and their average finishing position is 16th.
If they were a factory, all they would produce is sadness.
If there are some positives to be found, last year’s seven wins was their most since 2014, and three wins on the road (two in Melbourne and one in Sydney) in the latter third of the season should give the playing group plenty of belief. They have never been an ‘anywhere, anytime’ type of club, but need to start turning that corner.
There is no history to draw on, no former club greats to apply pressure in the media or to call on to deliver inspirational speeches. Their two best players, Gary Ablett and Tom Lynch, both former captains, ended their careers at other clubs and will be remembered for their exploits at Geelong and Richmond respectively.
The best 22 below is actually a decent collection of individuals crossed with some star quality, particularly through the midfield and forward-line, but as a team they are yet to prove worth more than the sum of their parts. Often they are less.
What’s new
The Suns have lost more than they’ve gained, when it comes to experienced players – 800-plus games at AFL level are no longer on the list with the departures of Jarrod Harbrow, Zac Smith, Jack Hombsch, Rory Thompson, Hugh Greenwood and Jacob Townsend, but these guys only combined for 35 games last season.
Mabior Chol and Charlie Constable come from Tigerland and the Cattery, but neither will be gifted games. They’ll certainly create more depth and competition for spots, which will be welcome, and if they can command a spot on merit then it will make the club stronger overall.
Star on the rise
Could it actually be Matt Rowell, now in his third season? His tribulations have been well publicised, doing an ACL in the fifth game of his debut season, having already put nine Brownlow votes and three victories for his team in the bank.
Matt Rowell of the Suns celebrates a goal (Photo by Jono Searle/AFL Photos/via Getty Images )
He re-injured his knee again in Round 1 of last season, and while he returned in Round 13 (still a teenager at the time, mind you), he was a shadow of himself from a year earlier. Yes, he still helped his team win those aforementioned games on the road, but he was as slow as molasses in January and as agile as a Winnebago.
The whole footy world will have a smile on their face if Rowell can become the player he promised to be in those early games, and for many gun mids it is their third year in the comp where they break out and start to cement their spot in the elite bracket of players. Hopefully it’s his time.
Who’s under the pump
Stuart Dew is, there’s no doubt about it.
2022 will be his fifth year at the helm of Gold Coast, a year in which his contract as senior coach expires. Guy McKenna was punted after four years, while Rodney Eade didn’t even see out three. What a graveyard.
But Dew has shown that he can coach. Early in seasons, his teams have looked defensively organised, with sound ball movement. They have often been on the winning side of the ledger after five rounds under his watch. The way they competed as a unit reeked of players that had listened, absorbed and executed.
Yet, too often, they have descended into rabble. Meek and uncompetitive by the winter months. A shell of a club and team by the end. It has to stop. It must stop. And if it doesn’t, Dew will be shown the door.
Best-case scenario
Even the best case scenario sees them having September off to spend time with friends and family. But it’s not unreasonable to think that last year’s seven wins can turn into ten this time around.
They need their most talented players to stay injury-free, which is true of all bottom sides looking to rise. Their young players need continuity and playing time together.
A midfield of Miller, Weller, Rowell, Anderson, Ellis and Swallow should do some damage, with Witts back from his own long-term injury to feed them. Ben King can win the Coleman. Jack Lukosius is going to be tried forward to support King, which could make the forward-line more dynamic.
Worst-case scenario
The Suns follow the same path they always have, competitive early, never threatening finals, and fading into irrelevance and anonymity by the second half of the year. Another broom swept through the club amid another change of coach and/or administration.
The most bitter blow of all would be if the above was followed by Lukosius or Rankine being landed by one of the South Australian clubs, and make no mistake – they’ll be asking the question regularly. And of course, the idea of Ben King being reunited with his twin bother in Victoria will never go away.
The pressure is always on Gold Coast, and they can never afford to put a foot wrong. Unfortunately, they rarely put a foot right.
B: Connor Budarick Sam Collins Sean Lemmens
HB: Jack Bowes Charlie Ballard Wil Powell
C: Lachie Weller Touk Miller Brandon Ellis
HF: Noah Anderson Jack Lukosius Izak Rankine
F: Alex Sexton Ben King Nick Holman
Foll: Jarrod Witts David Swallow Matt Rowell
Int: Chris Burgess Ben Ainsworth Oleg Markov Jeremy Sharp