Suns coach Stuart Dew confident top senior players will won’t follow Tom Lynch out of the Gold Coast

SUNS coach Stuart Dew believes his playing group is aligned and is confident more senior players won’t follow Tom Lynch out the door at the end of next year.

Suns head coach Stuart Dew is seen during the Round 20 AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG in Melbourne, Sunday, August 5, 2018. Picture: AAP Image/Daniel Pockett.

SUNS coach Stuart Dew believes his playing group is aligned and is confident more senior players won’t follow Tom Lynch out the door at the end of next year.

Gold Coast copped another battering on Sunday, falling to Melbourne Demons by a whopping 96 points at the MCG just days after their co-captain Lynch announced he wanted out of the club after eight years.

Even more senior players including David Swallow, Steven May and Jack Martin, are off contract at the end of next year and the Suns need to prove they are worth staying for.

Dew said his group had gelled and it was time the club moved away from relying on individuals who have shouldered the load too often since the club was created.

“When you have got 45 players there is always going to be someone who wants to go and then we will have some that want to come,” Dew said.

“We have worked out we have a fair chunk of numbers who want to stay and really build this club in the right way.

SUNS COP DEMONS HAMMERING

“The players also need to understand the role they play on that and I think they are starting to get their heads around that.

“That is not over to one or two people off the field. It’s certainly up to them as well.

“We are in the trenches with the players and we will support them and challenge them.”

Dew said another preseason would be critical for his side who had come in and out of games throughout the season through mental and physical lapses.

The Suns were up against it from the start in Melbourne on Sunday, with key forward Peter Wright limping from the field after just two minutes after hurting his left knee in a marking contest. It cost the Suns who were already without key defenders Steven May and Rory Thompson along with key forwards Tom Lynch and Sam Day who won’t return this year.

Suns head coach Stuart Dew is seen during the Round 20 AFL match between the Melbourne Demons and the Gold Coast Suns at the MCG in Melbourne, Sunday, August 5, 2018. (AAP Image/Daniel Pockett) NO ARCHIVING, EDITORIAL USE ONLY

In a positive for the Suns, May is due back this week while Dew is also confident Brayden Crossley and Swallow will be fit to play.

Wright’s absence forced Jack Leslie to play roles at the back and up forward between stints in the ruck with Jarrod Witts.

The Demons led by 51 points by the end of the first and increased it at every break. Gold Coast continued to run forward hard but were hurt going the other way on turnover by Melbourne who were too quick in transition for the Queensland side.

“It wasn’t the ideal start with Pete going down,” Dew said.

“I thought Jack played well actually. He really gave us a target but it did upset our structure but that’s not the total reason (we lost).

“Our guys were reasonably deflated by that. At quarter time we were able to reset and show a fair bit of spirit in the second and third.

“It’s an experience but against a team that is going to the finals I think we can take a lot out of it.”