Gold Coast 2018 AFL season preview: Stuart Dew can guide Suns revival

NEW coach Stuart Dew has a big job turning around Gold Coast’s fortunes but he has the talent to lead the revival, and a big season from Tom Lynch would help, writes DAVID KING.

IT’S The “Tom & Stuey Show” at the Gold Coast Suns.

Stuart Dew hasn’t coached an AFL game yet, but he recognises the importance of both Tom Lynch’s form and signature on his coaching longevity.

Gold Coast relies on the influence of Lynch as much as West Coast does with Nic Naitanui.

If this franchise is to be successful both in the short and long term then it needs the 2016 version of Lynch, not the watered down and distracted version of last season.

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Lynch led the league in contested marks with 62 in 2016 – more than fellow big forwards Lance Franklin, both Riewoldts and West Coast’s Josh Kennedy – but last season he took just 27 contested marks, which ranked outside the competition’s top 30.

Dew brings considerable intelligence from a regimented defence-first Sydney program that values contested possession and culture as the pillars for its success.

He is regarded as a tactically brilliant operator who builds tremendous relationships with his playing group, a much-needed asset right now for the Suns.

Gold Coast will hope for a greater output from Tom Lynch this season. Picture: Michael Klein

The scope for improvement is substantial and Dew’s first priority is to cease the porous nature of their team defence.

When the Suns lost possession of the ball between the 50m arcs, anywhere in the midfield, they were the AFL’s easiest team to advance the ball against.

Dew will endeavour to arrest this situation in one pre-season, but it may take time.

It’s imperative the four players selected inside the top 10 picks in the 2016 draft become significant drivers of this rebuild.

They all had a taste of senior footy in 2017, and the 30-odd games of experience gave us a small exhibition of their class.

Ben Ainsworth, Jack Scrimshaw, Will Brodie and Jack Bowes are those players, but the Suns still have 14 top 20 national draft selections on their list — the fourth highest in the AFL.

Gold Coast AG (After Gary) was once a fearful proposition for Suns fans, but the maturity of Aaron Hall, Touk Miller, Jack Martin and Jarryd Lyons has been apparent in the past year, and a more rigid game plan should bring their talents and leadership to the fore.

It’s time to trust the kids.

A long journey lies ahead, but things aren’t as bad as they seem – unless Lynch leaves.

This season will be seen as one of evaluation and reprogramming.

Expect seven to 10 wins.

Stuart Dew is the type of coach the Suns need. Picture: Adam Head

ROBBO’S TACKLE

WHAT I LIKE

Another line in the sand when they sacked the coach, so that gives the new coach and the club some leeway.

You can kick the daylights out of the Suns, but the thing about footy is new personnel brings renewed hope and, let’s be honest, they have taken top-end talent in recent drafts.

If the program is right and the support network is right, those kids should flourish.

Let’s see what new coach Stuey Dew can do to help deliver before the kicking starts again.

Overall, expect less run and gun and more Sydney-style footy, which hopefully makes them more competitive.

WHAT I DON’T LIKE

In general, the investment — what is it now, $300 million? — has returned nothing, and the Suns are widely thought of as a basket case. The club needs respect.

It also needs a promising season because co-captain and one of the best key forwards in the game Tom Lynch could be on the move at season’s end.

Someone close to Lynch said he’s a loyal man. Someone else down Sorrento way — his home town — says he’s out of there at the end of the season.

Six, six and four wins in the past three years amid coach sackings and culture issues tells us this club needs to urgently get it right.

VERDICT

Hoping for seven wins