Garry Lyon: Gold Coast is ready to take the next step during its ‘Big Boy month’
Damien Hardwick coined July as Big Boy Month. Ahead of the biggest challenge of their 15-year existence, Garry Lyon unpacks if the Suns have the chops to make it to September.
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Damien Hardwick said it best himself, back in 2015; July is Big Boy month.
Back when he was in charge of the Tigers he said, “Its when the contenders step up and the pretenders step away. We’ve had that conversation with our players. It’s big boy month, so it’s time to come and play.”
There could not be any truer words spoken to sum up the challenge facing his current group of players at the Gold Coast Suns ahead of their monster clash with the all conquering Collingwood Football Club on Friday night.
Put simply, to be the best, you have to beat the best and any team harbouring ambitions of greatness this year have to go through the Magpies. And there is no doubt this current incarnation of Suns have lofty ambitions. After paddling around in the shallows of mediocrity for much of their time since entering this competition, the appointment of Hardwick as coach signalled that they were finally ready to be taken seriously as a football club.
And winning respect and trust does not come easily. Particularly when you look at the record of this team. They flirted with relevance when the sheer genius of Gary Ablett almost single-handedly carried them to the top 8, only for Ablett to dislocate his shoulder, ironically against Collingwood, back in 2014. The Suns were nine wins and six losses when this occurred, and inside the 8. Ablett didn’t play again that year, the Suns finished 12th, and Guy McKenna was sacked at the end of the season.
12th remains the highest finishing position for the Suns to this day, and they have not been remotely close to being a contender. They have had moments, but moments rather than sustained excellence merely perpetuates the reputation of this club as flighty and not to be taken seriously.
Is all this about to change, with them poised beautifully at 10 wins and five losses? The next three weeks will tell the story, with games against Collingwood, Adelaide and Brisbane. And it all starts on Friday night in what has to be the biggest and most exciting challenge of their 15-year existence.
The time has arrived for their leaders. The current captain and the former captain have been magnificent representatives of this football club and they give you the impression that they are driving standards not associated with this group in the past. Touk Miller has been an elite footballer of the competition for a number of years. When you talk about standards, the measure of a footballer is the ability to compete at your maximum capacity week in, week out.
When your fellow players, across the competition, laud you universally as one of the hardest working players in the game, you know you have arrived at a pretty special place. While the Suns, as a team, have struggled to be elite in any aspects, Miller has won two All Australian blazers in the past four years and been recognised by the coaches as their player of the year in 2022.
Having handed over the captaincy to Noah Anderson, he has not lowered his standards in any way. He is currently the seventh-rated player in the competition and has added goal kicker to his already impressive talents. His previous best goal tally for a year was eight; he has 16 this year in an expanded role that has seen him spend more time forward.
In this modern era, where ball use has never been more important, Miller separates himself from the rest and elevates into rare company. Of all the midfielders in the game, only Bontempelli, Ed Richards and Chad Warner use the ball better than him.
The man who succeeded him as captain, Noah Anderson, vindicates that call every game that he plays. His passionate grabbing of the jumper after kicking a match sealing goal in their final quarter last week against the Bombers was powerful and symbolic.
Here is a man fully invested in taking this club to places it hasn’t been before. He plays in a relentless and tireless manner, and puts an immense value on every possession he wins. So much so, he is the only player in the game who is rated in the top 10 for both ball use (ninth), and ball winning (fourth).
His work in combination with great mate Matt Rowell speaks to a connection that goes back to their junior days. While Miller and Anderson are accumulating big numbers and doing maximum damage with the ball, the complimentary grunt work of Rowell is inspiring. Second in the game for tackles and pressure and No. 4 for clearances. Against a Collingwood midfield that is as well oiled and in sync as any we have seen for a long time, the capacity for this Suns group to meet them head on is non negotiable.
What will not be lost on Hardwick, nor the Pies, is that in their two significant losses against both Brisbane and Geelong, they were smashed in contested possession. The Lions were +22 and the Cats +23. There is no hiding from these numbers and it remains a massive test for this group.
What does stand up for the 2025 Suns is their defensive profile. With a competition that has essentially narrowed itself down to nine contending teams, the Suns record against this group from a defensive point of view is outstanding. They are the hardest team in the game for opposition clubs to score against from turnover, give up the least points from opposition inside 50s, the third-hardest to score against from clearance and are the sixth-hardest team for opposition clubs to transition the ball from defensive 50 to inside 50. They are the sort of defensive numbers that have you in good stead heading in to this monster clash.
The biggest challenge confronting the Suns on Friday night will be putting a winning score on the board against the most frugal team in the comp. Again, the measurement has to be against top nine teams as we get to the pointy end of the season, and this is where the concerns present themselves. They are No. 1 for scoring from an opposition turnover against bottom nine teams, but No. 14 for punishing turnover against top nine teams. They are the sixth best team for scores per inside 50 against bottom nine, but No. 13 against top nine. They’re No. 7 for scores from the defensive half against bottom nine, but No. 15 against top nine teams.
No team makes it harder for you to score or move the ball than Collingwood. They are No. 1 for points against, opposition scores per inside 50 and points against from turnover and No. 2 for points against from clearance. You don't score by chance against this Collingwood outfitted you don't fluke victory. It will be a huge watch.
From a personnel point of view, what a night it is for Ben King. He’ll probably get the Darcy Moore match up and I cant help but think this is his moment. Jed Walter and Ethan Read are undeniable talents and in time they will all be a nightmare for opposition defences, but right now, King has to be the man. He has been a very consistent goal scorer for the Suns, having managed 47, 40 and 55 goals in the three years leading up to this season.
This year he has produced 42, with only Jeremy Cameron ahead of him. King gets marked hard in some quarters for he is not a crash and bash key forward, and can go long periods with little or no involvement, but he makes the most of the opportunities when he does find the footy. What would help silence the critics is a powerful, statement making performance on the biggest stage. Apart from finals football, this is that very stage and I can’t wait to see what sort of an influence he can have when the consequences are so high.
So, are the Suns ready to mix it with the Big Boys? Hardwick’s influence on the tangible aspects of the way the Suns play are obvious for all to see, with a healthy dose of the super successful Richmond DNA he helped produce, harvested and transplanted into his current group.
But what sort of influence has the coach been able to have on the mindset and belief of this entire football club, that has been the problem child for the AFL for too long? Has the three-time premiership coach been able to lift the collective self esteem of the players to the point where not only do they think they can compete with the ladder leading Magpies in front of a sell out crowd, but they genuinely cherish the opportunity to be judged against the best, with the eyes of the entire football world upon them.
And then go out and win.
That’s what the Big Boys do.
Originally published as Garry Lyon: Gold Coast is ready to take the next step during its ‘Big Boy month’
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