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RORY Thompson may yet to have caused much of a ripple outside the Suns, but when he rolled his ankle last Saturday the shudder that went through the coach's box left Guy McKenna nauseous for days.
Thompson, a low-fuss defender, has quietly become one of the Suns' most important players.
THE OPENING round of the NAB Cup resolved one thing for Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna – Rory Thompson is his key defender of the future.
Thompson had been earmarked for defence since a late switch in 2011, but an injury-destroyed 2012 curtailed his progress.
"Reid only took two marks and one was from a fairly quick ball movement and (legendary full-backs) Steve Silvagni and Gary Pert have been beaten in those situations.
"He rarely gets out-marked and if he doesn't halve the contest he normally wins it."
It’ll require a lot of hard work and a no-nonsense attitude towards his training, but Rory Thompson has all the makings to become one of the competition’s best, according to assistant coach Dean Solomon.
The athletic 21-year-old had hit a wall defensively in recent weeks against the GWS Giants and Fremantle, forcing senior coach Guy McKenna to pinch him across half-forward in a bid to get the Gold Coaster more involved in the contest.
Gary Ablett might be the best player in the competition, but Rory Thompson’s amazing growth as the team’s premier defender may have seen the fiery Gold Coaster surpass his captain as the Gold Coast SUNS most important player.
Thompson has started playing in some match simulation drills at training, and although no timeframe has been established for his comeback, he will play in the NAB Challenge.
"It was definitely getting frustrating being out, but I'm back in the main group and doing the sessions now," Thompson said.
No current season stats available