Gold Coast Suns shouldn’t be daunted by Gary Ablett's injury as the club is blooming, writes Gerard Whateley

THE Gold Coast Suns shouldn’t be daunted by Gary Ablett's shoulder injury as the club is blooming, writes Gerard Whateley.

Photos of Gold Coast Suns players ahead of the 2014 AFL season. Photo of the Suns leadership team, (L-R) David Swallow, Deon Prestia, captain Gary Ablett, Nathan Bock, Michael Rischitelli and Tom Lynch. Picture: Brendan Radke.

WHAT becomes of the Suns sans Gary?

Beyond the lament that things seem a little lesser now and Brownlow Medal night could be awfully anti-climactic, the active questions posed by Ablett’s absence land squarely with his team.

Gold Coast is on the cusp of an inaugural finals appearance. Landmark wins against Geelong and Collingwood have tipped the probabilities in its favour. The heavy lifting just requires the finishing flourish.

The Suns have nine wins with seven games to play. All bar one of those opponents is below them on the ladder.

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Still it’s an ever-contracting race and they occupy eighth place with only a mediocre percentage. To be certain of seeing September might yet require 13 wins.

While it doubtlessly increases the degree of difficulty, the timing of this interruption otherwise could barely be better for coach Guy McKenna.

Dion Prestia is one of a handful of talented, young Suns midfielders. Picture: Daniel Wilkins

Responsibility and consequence are, by absolutely necessity, shared endeavours. And the failures might prove every bit as valuable as the successes.

Externally the Suns are heavily viewed through the blinding prism of Ablett. But none of Gold Coast’s improvement this season owes to its revered skipper.

Imperious as his level has been, it’s no better than his glorious second Brownlow year.

In the Ablett shadow a football club has been blooming.

At their most damaging the Suns have displayed a wealth of midfielders who run and spread to devastating effect. They have found reward upfront in the emergence of three big forwards and dependability down back with a pair of key post defenders.

That combination hasn’t been missed but somehow continued to be underplayed consistently, a secondary consideration to the latest miraculous instalment from the Bald Wizard.

Last Saturday night a coming-of-age win was swamped by the injury that put the football world into near-suspended animation.

McKenna was careful not to mention Ablett at his three-quarter time address. He reinforced the mantra of the evening, demanding no man let a teammate down.

Devoid of rotations, the on-field leaders attempted to ensure breathers were taken in pockets or on flanks but, in a helter-skelter affair, it was courage and determination that would have to prevail over replenished legs.

At their most damaging, the Suns have displayed a wealth of midfielders who run and spread to devastating effect. Picture: Adam Head

David Swallow, Harley Bennell, Jarrod Harbrow, Jaeger O’Meara and Tom Lynch imposed direction, control and calm.

In a charged atmosphere before a record crowd and with so much at stake, the Suns held firm enough and rightly earned acclaim.

There’s nothing quite so powerful in the armoury of a coach as the reference point such a performance provides.

McKenna knows the model trajectory of a team ready to contend. The critical mass would be 24 years of age with 100 games under their belts.

Quite deliberately he’s privately challenged his players with the idea of fast-tracking development rather than waiting until they’re all at that mark.

Casting aside demographics, the critical components McKenna preaches are the physical strength to run out matches, an ability to shoulder extra responsibility and the mental capacity to understand the situation of a game, respond to it and meet the challenge.

Against Collingwood that passed from theory to case study.

By Wednesday night, with Ablett’s fate determined, McKenna had turned it back on the group. Who will go the extra yard to fill the void of the captain?

The challenges will be collective and individual. The best illustration might of the change in order likely to be Dion Prestia’s capacity to move from free-range to heavily-checked.

Elsewhere the coach speaks of the opportunities opening for Jesse Lonergan, Jack Martin and Alex Sexton. The trio shares a combined 27 games.

Frighteningly young they might be, but it’s a team laden with elite junior talent. High standards and achievement are ingrained in their constitutions along with an inherent sense of leadership.

Being daunted by the prospect isn’t likely to be the problem.

Having laid the marker in that stirring final term a week ago, the challenge now is to translate it to the norm.

As of this afternoon in Cairns, that project is exposed to full sun.