After another exodus of senior players, Gold Coast is as good as starting again in 2019. Photo: AFL MEDIA

GOLD COAST
2018 record: 4 wins, 18 losses (17th)
List age ranking (oldest to youngest): 18th
List experience ranking (most to fewest games): 18th
Footyology draw ranking (easiest to hardest): 2nd

THE INS
Jordan Murdoch (Geelong), Jack Hombsch (Port Adelaide), Anthony Miles (Richmond), George Horlin-Smith (Geelong), Corey Ellis (Richmond), Josh Corbett (Werribee), Chris Burgess (West Adelaide), Sam Collins (Werribee), Jack Lukosius (Woodville-West Torrens), Izak Rankine (West Adelaide), Ben King (Sandringham Dragons), Jez McLennan (Central District), Caleb Graham (Palm Beach Currumbin)

THE OUTS
Tom Lynch (Richmond), Steven May (Melbourne), Aaron Hall (North Melbourne), Jarryd Lyons (delisted – Brisbane), Kade Kolodjashnij (Melbourne), Jack Scrimshaw (Hawthorn), Matt Rosa (retired), Michael Barlow (delisted), Josh Jaska (delisted), Max Spencer (delisted), Mackenzie Willis (delisted), Jesse Lonergan (delisted)

THE BEST 22
B: Jesse Joyce, Ben King, Sam Collins
HB: Jarrod Harbrow, Jack Hombsch, Pearce Hanley
C: Brayden Fiorini, Lachie Weller, Jordan Murdoch
HF: Alex Sexton, Peter Wright, Jack Martin
F: Aaron Young, Sam Day, Jack Lukosius
R: Jarrod Witts, David Swallow, Touk Miller
Inter: Anthony Miles, Jack Bowes, Nick Holman, Izak Rankine
Emerg: Ben Ainsworth, Michael Rischitelli, Will Brodie, Sean Lemmens

THE PROGNOSIS
As a fledgling AFL club entering the competition in 2011, Gold Coast was allowed a senior list of no fewer than 53 players. Entering a ninth season in league company, just six of those foundation players remain.

And while several among Jarrod Harbrow, David Swallow, Michael Rischitelli, Rory Thompson, Sam Day and Tom Nicholls have had good moments in their careers, not one is a bona fide star of the competition.

That’s leaving aside the fact the Suns have now lost their last three captains – Gary Ablett, Tom Lynch and Steven May – over the past two off-seasons. And now an important key defender for the entirety of 2019, after Thompson ruptured his ACL at training last Friday.

Combined, it says plenty about from how low a base Gold Coast is effectively starting all over again.

The positive is the Suns get to relaunch with three top six draft picks – Izak Rankine, Jack Lukosius and Ben King – all of whom should see plenty of senior action in their debut year.

Coach Stuart Dew and co.’s decision to effectively wipe the slate clean could end up proving a brave and inspired course. But we’re not going to get the definitive answer for a few years, certainly not in 2019, when the Suns will have the youngest and least experienced list in the competition.

On a list of 46 (including rookies) going into the new season, 29 are yet to reach 50 AFL games, and there’s only two players – Rischitelli and Harbrow – with more than 150 to their names.

The Suns are trying to hold the fort while the kids develop by way of a clutch of imports from other clubs, chiefly Richmond pair Anthony Miles and Corey Ellis, Geelong’s Jordan Murdoch and George Horlin-Smith, and Port Adelaide defender Jack Hombsch.

They’ll no doubt provide some decent leadership examples. But a harsh critic might ask whether any of them are actually good enough players to make a substantial difference to on-field performance.

Particularly when they are effectively replacements for Lynch, May, Aaron Hall, Kade Kolodjashnij and Jarryd Lyons. There’s not much doubt which of those two groups has the better purely football credentials.

Remember, too, that even with those names in the fold, Gold Coast last year won just one of its last 17 games after winning three of the first five.

To say the bottom fell out of the Suns’ performance levels from round six onwards would be an understatement. They lost no fewer than 11 games by at least 40 points, had an average losing margin of 52, and lost six games by 70 or more points. Their final percentage was 59.9, only fractionally more than Carlton, which won half as many games.

No one will expect Gold Coast to win more than a handful of games. What it must do, however, is remain at least vaguely competitive.

And that will require a lot more from the likes of earlier draft picks such as Jack Bowes, Ben Ainsworth and Will Brodie, yet to make any sort of impression in two seasons, and even more so in the case of a player like Jack Martin, now among the dozen most experienced players at the club, but still not a player who can be relied upon week in, week out.

THE PREDICTION
18th. No genuine stars, precious little experience, and a host of new faces to be inducted into Dew’s plans. Just getting through this season with pride intact, let alone a win here or there, will be a huge challenge.