Gold Coast star Touk Miller hopes Suns rise in similar fashion to Brisbane Lions

The transformation of the Brisbane Lions irritates but also inspires Gold Coast Suns co-captain Touk Miller.

Gold Coast co-captain Touk Miller is confident the Suns can reach the AFL finals this year. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Gold Coast co-captain Touk Miller admits Brisbane’s ascendancy from AFL easybeats to premiership contenders irks him, but says it’s a “fantastic” blueprint for future Suns’ success.

The Suns have impressed in the pre-season with wins over Port Adelaide and Geelong.

However, it will mean nothing if the club again fails to finish this season in the top eight.

“We want to play finals – that’s the bottom line,” Miller said.

“We’ve got to notch up at least double digit wins to be there, so we know what’s ahead of us.

“We know it’s going to be a hard path but we’re but pretty excited with what’s to come.”

Miller takes encouragement from the transformation of the Lions.

The former battlers have finished in the top four for three successive years under coach Chris Fagan, and have been tipped to play in this season’s grand final in a captain’s poll.

“As much as it kills me to see sometimes, what they are doing up the road is fantastic,” Miller said.

“They way they’ve paved the path with the list they do have is probably going to be very similar to what we’re doing.

“It’s about having internal confidence in what you’re doing, having belief in your coaches and having belief in your staff and also your playing group.

“We really feel confident that we’re going to have our moment and have our patch, and we’re looking forward to when that happens.”

Lions skipper Dayne Zorko and Suns co-captain Touk Miller are set for the new AFL season. Picture: Chris Hyde/AFL Photos/Getty Images

Miller said the Suns had “matured” as a group, and was confident Gold Coast could buck its recent trend of fading away as the season went on.

“A lot of people talk about how many games all our players have played, and whether we’re young, whether we’re talented, but for us now we’re in a spot where our list has really matured,” he said.

“We’re probably in a position where we can play footy for a whole entire season and that’s what we plan to do.”

Miller’s own form remains first-class, with Fox Footy’s Nick Riewoldt this week describing him as “the best two-way midfielder in the game”.

However it’s team success rather than individual accolades that Miller is chasing.

“I know there’s a little bit more media surrounding how I’m playing and how I’m performing but I’m really just all about how I can contribute to my team the best I can and stay hungry,” he said.

“Once we chase the dream of getting that Premiership cup, we can start to move forward from that.”

Miller said he was relishing the co-captaincy and paid tribute to the man he replaced in the leadership role, David Swallow

“I was pretty grateful that someone of the calibre of David Swallow was able to hand the baton down in that regard,” Miller said.

“It’s a pretty big move to step aside and give up a position like that to someone a bit younger than him.

“I hold him in such high (regard) so for him to that for myself and the benefit of the club ... it was fantastic.”

Originally published as Gold Coast star Touk Miller hopes Suns rise in similar fashion to Brisbane Lions