Gold Coast preview: The young guns who could set Suns alight in 2024 to break into finals
The Gold Coast Suns fell flat in season 2023 after being in the box seat for its maiden finals berth. Under new coach Damien Hardwick, they’ll look to make new ground.
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It was another frustrating year for the Gold Coast Suns, with a strong squad unable to translate a start with plenty of promise into a maiden finals appearance.
GOLD COAST SUNS
Coach: Damien Hardwick
Captain: Touk Miller and Jarrod Witts
What happened in 2023?
A season of expectation quickly fell flat for the Suns, who became the sideshow of the AFL late in the season after sacking coach Stuart Dew before embarking on an around-the-world pursuit of Damien Hardwick.
Under interim coach Steven King they were once again in contention for finals late in the season, only to drop their final four games and finish on 10 wins for the campaign.
Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell enjoyed career-best seasons, while the Suns unearthed a star of the future in first-round pick Bailey Humphrey.
Jack Lukosius found his best position as a permanent key forward alongside Ben King, who enjoyed a solid campaign in his return from a knee injury.
Mac Andrew put his hand up as the third tall down back, while young midfielder Sam Flanders broke out in the second half of the season to add to the Suns’ engine room talent.
Where do they finish in 2024?
How quickly his playing group can adapt to Hardwick’s game plan could be the difference between finals or bust for the Suns in 2024.
It’s all positive coming out of pre-season so far but both players and coaching staff have been frank that it will take time to properly implement the new coach’s system.
The long-term outlook of the list improved substantially with the addition of four Suns Academy stars in the draft, however it may take time for them to make a proper impact at AFL level.
In Gold Coast’s favour is the age profile of its best players, the bulk of whom fall in the 24-29 range and are coming into their prime.
Biggest improver in 2024?
Malcolm Rosas Jr is the one. He has all the talent to be a top line small forward in the AFL but hasn’t been able to find consistency so far in his career.
He comes with all the tools Hardwick likes in his pressure small forwards and should be given every opportunity to flourish under the new coach.
If he can improve his tank – as he declared late last season was his goal – then 2024 could be the year we glimpse Rosas’ true potential.
X-factor
Bailey Humphrey had 26 touches and a goal in just his seventh AFL game against eventual grand finalists the Brisbane Lions.
He showed so much potential so early that the Suns felt obligated to give him midfield minutes, despite the staggering depth in the position already.
Humphrey returned for his first full pre-season and cut 20 seconds from his 2km PB, declaring an intent to play even more through the middle in 2024.
Natural progression into his second season would make him must-watch in 2024.
Coach status
Gold Coast got its man with a monster six-year deal tying Hardwick to the Suns for the foreseeable future.
There is plenty of expectation on the shoulders of the triple-premiership coach, but the Suns have gone all-in on Hardwick and for better or worse will be tied to him over the journey.
Who is in last year of contract?
Alex Davies, Alex Sexton, Ben Ainsworth, Ben King, Bodhi Uwland, Brandon Ellis, Darcy Macpherson, Hewago Oea, James Tsitas, Jarrod Witts, Levi Casboult, Lloyd Johnston, Ned Moyle, Nick Holman, Oskar Faulkhead, Sam Clohesy, Sam Day, Sandy Brock, Sean Lemmens, Thomas Berry, Will Rowlands
Outs for 2024
Elijah Hollands (Carlton), Mabior Chol (Hawthorn), Chris Burgess (Adelaide), Connor Blakely (retired), Charlie Constable (retired), Jeremy Sharp (delisted), Jake Stein (delisted), Jed Anderson (delisted), Brodie McLaughlin (delisted)
Ins for 2024
Jed Walter (draft), Ethan Read (draft), Jake Rogers (draft), Will Graham (draft), Sam Clohesy (rookie draft), Will Rowlands (rookie draft), Jack Mahoney (rookie draft)
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Originally published as Gold Coast preview: The young guns who could set Suns alight in 2024 to break into finals
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