Touk Miller went through the stratosphere in 2021, becoming one of the league’s best midfielders. Photo: AFL MEDIA

GOLD COAST
2021 record: 7 wins, 15 losses (16th)

THE INS
Mabior Chol (Richmond), Levi Casboult (Carlton), Charlie Constable (Geelong), Mac Andrew (Dandenong Stingrays), Sandy Brock (Peel Thunder), Bodhi Uwland (Broadbeach)

THE OUTS
Hugh Greenwood (delisted – North Melbourne), Jarrod Harbrow (retired), Jacob Townsend (delisted), Zac Smith (retired), Will Brodie (Fremantle), Jack Hombsch (retired), Jordan Murdoch (retired), Aiden Fyfe (delisted), Luke Towey (delisted)

THE STRENGTHS
Yet again there were few positives for the Suns to take out of last season, but one overwhelming bright spot was the form of vice-captain Touk Miller. Miller went through the stratosphere in 2021, becoming one of the league’s best midfielders as he gathered a career-high 668 disposals (183 more than his previous best of 485 in 2018) at an average of 32 per match. He also set a new league record of 16 consecutive games with at least 30 disposals, a streak which remains active heading into round one. His efforts saw him earn his first All-Australian jumper and best-and-fairest. He received really good support from Brandon Ellis, David Swallow and Noah Anderson in the middle. As always, the Suns boast a really exciting group of emerging young talent featuring the likes of Ben King, Matt Rowell, Jack Lukosius, Anderson and Izak Rankine. King will look forward to linking up with Sam Day again more regularly in 2022 after injury cruelled most of Day’s 2021 season. The pair were quite effective as a key forward tandem in 2020. And they’ll enjoy some added support from Mabior Chol, who will also be able to help Jarrod Witts in the ruck. The former Tiger showed glimpses of his enormous potential last season and if he realises it with the Suns, that would be a huge boost for the team. Down back, Sam Collins and Charlie Ballard are a very dependable pair of key defenders, and the return of Connor Budarick from an ACL injury will only serve to strengthen that part of the ground. As usual, the Suns did tease the footy public with fleeting instances of what they’re capable of in defeating Sydney, GWS and Richmond at Marvel Stadium.

THE WEAKNESSES
Where do you start? Another year goes by and another wasted season goes straight into the trash can for the Suns. The battling expansion club finished in the bottom four for the eighth time in 11 seasons last year. In their short lifetime, they’ve only recorded 59 wins from 237 matches at a pathetic rate of 25 per cent. Last year, their attack was ranked dead last in the AFL, while their defence wasn’t much better at 13th. Eight of their 15 losses (more than half) were by more than five goals, and they suffered particularly frightful thumpings from Melbourne (98 points), Sydney (87), Brisbane (73 and 49), Essendon (68), Western Bulldogs (62) and Port Adelaide (50). In other words, they’re miles off the pace. In 2021, on differentials, the Suns were also ranked 18th for disposals, 17th for clearances and 17th for contested possessions – it was basically Touk Miller or bust. They were also ranked 17th for marks inside 50 and 16th for goals per inside 50. Capping off those disastrous numbers was the fact Gold Cost was fourth-last for total inside 50s and rock bottom once again for inside 50s conceded. The Suns were a train wreck. There are so many areas for improvement over the summer coach Stuart Dew is probably already on to his 10th pack of whiteboard markers. They were also hit very hard with injury, with key players Rory Thompson (22 games), Budarick (20), Witts (19), Day (16), Rowell (10) and Lachie Weller (nine) missing large chunks of the season. And off the field, they didn’t fare much better either in the post-season when they tried to be too cute with the AFL’s rules in delisting one of their best midfielders, Hugh Greenwood, only for the contested bull to then be tempted by an offer too good to refuse from North Melbourne. People might say: “Well, he’s turning 30 in March and won’t play in their next premiership”, but let’s call a spade a spade, it was an embarrassing episode for the Suns. Greenwood had become an entrenched member of that playing group and led by example on the field with his uncompromising approach to the game, an influence the Suns could ill-afford to lose. The upcoming post-season is looming as yet another crucial one for Gold Coast with key pillars of their latest rebuild King, Lukosius and Rankine all coming out of contract. If the Suns fail to re-sign any of them, the questions regarding the club’s viability in the AFL will only get louder and louder. How many more times could the league afford the Suns to press the reset button?

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ONE TO WATCH
It’s hard go to past Rowell. The former No.1 pick started his career with an almighty bang, polling three consecutive three-vote games in his second, third and fourth games in 2020, before a serious shoulder injury cruelly ended his debut season. He then spent another lengthy stint on the sidelines last year after injuring his knee in round one. He played the last 11 games last season, but was a shadow of the shooting star that burst on to the scene the previous year. Entering his third season, there will be no shortage of focus on the young star, and if he can get close to fulfilling his enormous potential, the Suns’ win column might not look so bleak.

UNDER THE PUMP
After crossing to the Suns at the end of 2020 on a big-money five-year deal from Adelaide, Rory Atkins should’ve have been a walk-up start to the senior side, but battled to gain a foothold in the struggling team. Granted, he had to overcome shoulder and foot injuries at the start of the year, but he failed to get near full fitness and was dropped twice on the way to playing only eight games. When he did play, he had minimal impact, averaging 11 disposals (although he was the medical sub for three of those games). In a good sign for the 27-year-old, it sounds as though he is much fitter this pre-season, and he’s going to need to be if he is to live up to his standing as a senior player at the club.

BEST 23
B: Sean Lemmens, Sam Collins, Connor Budarick
HB: Jack Lukosius, Charlie Ballard, Wil Powell
C: Brandon Ellis, Touk Miller, Noah Anderson
HF: Izak Rankine, Mabior Chol, Nick Holman
F: Sam Day, Ben King, Alex Sexton
R: Jarrod Witts, David Swallow, Matt Rowell
Inter: Oleg Markov, Lachie Weller, Jack Bowes, Rory Atkins, Brayden Fiorini
Emerg: Chris Burgess, Josh Corbett, Jeremy Sharp

Jack Bowes will be sidelined for up to four months due to a shoulder injury, but when fully fit is a part of their best 23, and looks set for a return to the midfield after spending the last couple of years in defence. Chol has the potential to really add some spark, while Levi Casboult is probably just an insurance policy at this stage. There are huge raps on Mac Andrew, the big bolter at the 2021 draft, who was taken at pick No.5 overall, and the Suns still have Elijah Hollands up their sleeve, the 2020 No.7 pick who is still yet to make his debut after rupturing his ACL in February 2020. Sam Flanders will definitely be thereabouts throughout the season as well, while Malcolm Rosas and Charlie Constable also find themselves on the periphery for now. Having missed the last three seasons, Thompson remains out of the 26, too, but the once-promising key backman would be a big bonus for the Suns if he can finally get his body right.