Gold Coast skipper Touk Miller talks Malcolm Rosas suspension, Suns’ hot start under Damien Hardwick

Suns skipper Touk Miller says his club has one of the best midfields in the AFL, and his charges are ready to keep their unbeaten start to 2024 alive when they face the Western Bulldogs.

GOLD COAST, AUSTRALIA – MARCH 09: Touk Miller and Brandon Ellis of the Suns celebrate after the 2024 AFL Opening Round match between the Gold Coast SUNS and the Richmond Tigers at People First Stadium on March 09, 2024 in Gold Coast, Australia. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Gold Coast skipper Touk Miller has echoed the sentiments of coach Damien Hardwick and urged the Suns to take their winning form on the road when they square off against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat on Sunday.

Following a flawless 2-0 start to the season the Suns will face their first test under Hardwick outside of Queensland against a Dogs outfit licking its wounds after being trounced by Melbourne.

Whenever the two sides go to war the midfield match-up always looms as the major battleground in deciding the winner and Miller said the Suns’ on-ballers were eager to claim another scalp this weekend.

“I believe we have one of the best midfield groups in the comp. We’re a group that’s still growing and building and this week will be a great test for us,” Miller told this masthead.

Marcus Bontempelli will be a tough task for the Suns to handle. (Photo by Dylan Burns/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

“The Doggies have a fantastic midfield and have for some time so I’m looking forward to the challenge and I know the other boys will be as well.

Gold Coast’s midfield depth might be the best it has ever been, with Sam Flanders now settling into a star-studded rotation after a breakout 2023 campaign.

Matt Rowell has rocketed into early Brownlow consideration after winning 29 clearances in the first two games, while reigning Club Champion Noah Anderson has picked up where he left off last year.

Miller meanwhile believes he is back to playing his best footy after a frustrating injury-interrupted 2023 campaign that forced him to miss a major chunk of time with a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee.

“After having pretty much a year of footy taken away from me, you start to be very grateful for the times you do get to play,” Miller said.

“So for me being healthy and being able to play, I feel like I’m starting to really find my best footy and get into my groove – and the boys I’m playing with have stepped up another level which makes my job a hell of a lot easier.

“Rowelly, Noah and myself have played a bit more together now and Sammy has really added to that mix. It feels like we’re only going to get better the more time we spent together.”

Hardwick’s Suns have won their first two games of 2024. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

Miller has been known to take up a run-with role on the competition’s best midfielders in the past, however Hardwick’s system has rarely ever called for a tagger.

The Suns skipper said he had never spoken to Hardwick about a tagging role, indicating it was unlikely he or anybody paid extra attention to Bontempelli this weekend.

“Based on what we’ve done in the past with Dimma in pre-season, we’re a heavily system-based (team) so I probably don’t see a run-with role this week,” Miller said.

“But if you were to play on Bont I can tell you it would be a hard role, because he’s someone who is so hard to match up on given his size and ability to cover the ground.”

The Suns will travel to Ballarat at near-full strength, though will be without small forward Malcolm Rosas Jr who was handed a one-match ban for headbutting Crows defender Max Michalanney.

Malcolm Rosas will miss the clash with the Dogs. (Photo by Russell Freeman/AFL Photos via Getty Images)

It was a disappointing development for player and club, particularly given Rosas Jr’s promising start to the season which featured bags of three and two goals.

Miller said the playing group addressed it on Tuesday and challenged Rosas Jr to make the most of a bad situation.

“Mally understands and he was apologetic about that – he understands he’s let the team down by having a spur of the moment poor decision,” Miller said.

“It’s disappointing for him. He’s playing some great footy.

“We’ve got a game and then a bye so he essentially has two weeks off. How is he going to get himself ready to come back into the team and be ready to rock and roll?

“He has to look at it from a different point of view on how he can get better in two weeks to make sure he has a really positive season and keeps going with the start that he had.”

Originally published as Gold Coast skipper Touk Miller talks Malcolm Rosas suspension, Suns’ hot start under Damien Hardwick