Iva has every right to question these pea hearts. On hundreds of thousands of dollars and lve seen 12 yo kids attack the contest harder. F....ing embarrassed by these pea hearts
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Suns in the Media - Part II
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Touk most definitely has had a poor year.
He’s a shadow of the two way runner he once was that went close to a Brownlow.
He’s a shadow of the two way runner he once was that went close to a Brownlow.
Southern Sun
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I think we are harsh on touk because we expect so much. He started the season pretty well but form and injury resulted in a below average season. I'll back him in to bounce back. I wonder if the captaincy holds him back a bit? I'd expect him to be it again next year but maybe after that there could be a handover.
ok, may not be popular, but i think give the captaincy and vice captaincy to Bodhi and Will
yes they are young but so was john worsfold when he got it at the eagles
some players you just see are leaders on the field from day 1.
yes they are young but so was john worsfold when he got it at the eagles
some players you just see are leaders on the field from day 1.
Give the captaincy to Mac 
Mac starts fights… everyone gets onboard
Mac starts fights… everyone gets onboard
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Two serious injuries in the last two seasons hasn't helped.
Anderson looks like the next captain. Just a matter of when. Reckon Graham is a chance in 5-6 years.
I cannot have someone who literally cannot tackle be the Captain
3rd best on the team.
KaySwizzle
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Touk was groomed to be captain. Anderson seems the same.
They are also two of our best players, even if they are not consistent and not in the best form right now.
No other players on our list come close on Brownlow night to what Miller and Anderson have achieved. Do they have deficiencies? Sure. But the comments seem harsh to me. Anderson and Rowell carry our midfield often enough and are still young. No older mids to lean on (No Viney, no Bont, no Dunkley, no Terranto, no Pendlebury etc.) when Touk is out. Just kids leading kids alongside Witts.
And I imagine Witts might step down as soon as next year with Moyle coming along in more games. Possibly for Anderson. Maybe Collins steps up for a season or two with Touk before Anderson, and then down the line it could be a Graham/Uwland if they prove to have the skills.
They are also two of our best players, even if they are not consistent and not in the best form right now.
No other players on our list come close on Brownlow night to what Miller and Anderson have achieved. Do they have deficiencies? Sure. But the comments seem harsh to me. Anderson and Rowell carry our midfield often enough and are still young. No older mids to lean on (No Viney, no Bont, no Dunkley, no Terranto, no Pendlebury etc.) when Touk is out. Just kids leading kids alongside Witts.
And I imagine Witts might step down as soon as next year with Moyle coming along in more games. Possibly for Anderson. Maybe Collins steps up for a season or two with Touk before Anderson, and then down the line it could be a Graham/Uwland if they prove to have the skills.
I agree he’s a really good player but his tackling sucks and I just can’t have the club leader being poor at it.
I’ll never stop harping on about tackling. When I visually see us sticking tackles I know we are on that day and will beat our opposition.
It’s my personal KPI.
Only Rowell (one of the best in AFL) and Davies average more tackles. So I disagree that Miller is poor in tackling. For sure he had average season.
Ohh we have our wires crossed Jirik. I’m talking about Noah Anderson. The post that started our little conversation talked about Touk and then the poster said Anderson should be next Captain.
So my comments were in context to that.
Yeah Touk is a decent tackler.
My favourites are Rowell, Graham, Holman, Long and Lemmens.
Bloody hell
Now I agree. Noah’s lack of physicality annoys me a lot. Poor tackler for sure. Good choice of players.What about his inside 50 delivery it's appalling.Bloody hellNow I agree. Noah’s lack of physicality annoys me a lot. Poor tackler for sure. Good choice of players.
Now I agree. Noah’s lack of physicality annoys me a lot. Poor tackler for sure. Good choice of players.
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You're trans football amorous Bodsy
You just like NRL players that dress up as AFL players
We talked about tackling.
FWIW, I managed to watch the first quarter. Easily the worst player for inside delivery in that quarter was .... Flanders.
BTW, we dominated first 10 mins.
In the first quarter Miller was good. Collins was awful playing on Turner. 3 goals on him for terrible 1v1 defence. Mac awful too (no effort).
Not looking forward for the rest of the game to re-watch. It will be torture.
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KaySwizzle
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Yep. I have wondered for a long time if it was our mids or our forwards that were the problem. After this season I can safely say it’s our mids.
On the plus side, players like Flanders were trying to hit good options but just missing badly. Which is maybe an improvement on bombing it every time… Maybe the intent is there, but execution is not? That can be worked with, I guess.
Hopefully. Anderson was another culprit. Just shocking kicks.
To see Gawn tapping it down, Viney running through picking the ball up while our midfielders (Anderson, Rowell) were just standing there was painful to watch.
Just awful game
All teams had them this year. Only 2 weeks ago WB had absolute shocker in Adelaide.Surprisingly, only once we lost by more than 50 points (Demons game). I still believe we are closer than most people believe.
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KaySwizzle
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That’s the indicator for me. Our percentage is solid enough considering our wins/losses.Hopefully. Anderson was another culprit. Just shocking kicks.
To see Gawn tapping it down, Viney running through picking the ball up while our midfielders (Anderson, Rowell) were just standing there was painful to watch.
Just awful game
Surprisingly, only once we lost by more than 50 points (Demons game). I still believe we are closer than most people believe.
Better at defending. Better at scoring. Only a handful of really dogcrap games where we were dismantled on the scoreboard, and couple where we did the dismantling instead.
Plenty we should have won, but so it goes. We should end the season an inconsistent team sitting just short of a 50% win rate (making Dimma our most successful coach to date, btw).
Doesn’t take much to leap up. Doesn’t take much to be overleapt, either.
Yeah it's the perennial question of the eternally struggling team in the off season
What makes us better and what makes us better than every other team that will be better
What makes us better and what makes us better than every other team that will be better
Yep, that's the problem. Most teams improve too. Looking at the ladder I struggle again to see which teams we will jump ahead next year.
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Realistically we have to have all the young guys in the team increase their output and the others maintain.
As is quite often noted, we are regularly one of the youngest teams week to week.
I would like to see a "big fish" actually request a trade to us rather than just hear that we are getting phone calls all the time. I don't call Rioli a big fish regardless of how good he is but wouldn't mind if Petracca requested a trade. He's a big fish.
Alas here we are at the end of another season without finals. The thing that hurts the most was the definitive statements at the start of the season, baseline is finals by all the important people in the club. If they'd said an improvement with a view to finals next year I could accept that but am really disappointed with this season.
At least we have the Draft and Trade period to excel at again....
As is quite often noted, we are regularly one of the youngest teams week to week.
I would like to see a "big fish" actually request a trade to us rather than just hear that we are getting phone calls all the time. I don't call Rioli a big fish regardless of how good he is but wouldn't mind if Petracca requested a trade. He's a big fish.
Alas here we are at the end of another season without finals. The thing that hurts the most was the definitive statements at the start of the season, baseline is finals by all the important people in the club. If they'd said an improvement with a view to finals next year I could accept that but am really disappointed with this season.
At least we have the Draft and Trade period to excel at again....
lommy
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If they said “improvement with a view to finals next year” we would have been roasted by the oppo and media and our own fans would have rioted.
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KaySwizzle
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Finals has to be the baseline and goal every year. Unless you are rebuilding, it is the goal for all teams.
But at least 4 teams who could make finals every year don’t. We are one of those teams.
Natural improvement is fine. Players likely will get better, fitter, smarter or more cohesive. But then players like Witts, Touk, Collins etc. may start to decline as they get older. Or a few key injuries. We never know.
The reality is we need players to come. They don’t need to be Petracca. They just need to be good.
Better than retirees like Malceski. Better than off cuts like Holman. Just solid, effective role players who make us better by being in the team. Players with some name and brand recognition help, of course.
But at least 4 teams who could make finals every year don’t. We are one of those teams.
Natural improvement is fine. Players likely will get better, fitter, smarter or more cohesive. But then players like Witts, Touk, Collins etc. may start to decline as they get older. Or a few key injuries. We never know.
The reality is we need players to come. They don’t need to be Petracca. They just need to be good.
Better than retirees like Malceski. Better than off cuts like Holman. Just solid, effective role players who make us better by being in the team. Players with some name and brand recognition help, of course.
13. GOLD COAST SUNS (11-12, 99.1%)
Three word analysis
Home sweet home
What went right
They won a lot of games at home venues! Of their 11 games at either People First Stadium or TIO Stadium, the Suns won 10 of them as they began to make their Carrara venue a fortress. The record-breaking win over Geelong in Darwin was breathtaking, while the victory over Collingwood in late June was inspirational. The Damien Hardwick forward-half DNA was also apparent from early on. They ranked second in the competition for forward-half intercepts, while they were also top seven for inside 50 differential, time in forward half differential and points from forward-half intercepts. Ben King had another solid year in front of goal finishing with 55.26, while Sam Flanders thrived as a full-time midfielder. Sam Collins will be in the All-Australian mix, while Mac Andrew and Bodhi Uwland also starred in defence. Plus the acquisitions of Ben Long via trade and Sam Clohesy via the rookie draft also paid dividends.
What went wrong
They lost a lot of games at away venues! In fact it took until Round 22 against Essendon for the Suns to finally register a win away from Gold Coast and Darwin this year. Significant losses to the Swans (-53 point), Bulldogs (-48) and Giants (-39) were particularly perplexing, considering the momentum Hardwick’s troops had generated in the lead up to all of those matches. A constant frustration for Suns fans and footy pundits this year was Gold Coast’s inefficiency forward of centre. They ranked last in the competition for kick inside 50 retention percentage, while they were also bottom three for scores per inside 50 percentage and forward 50 groundball differential. Jack Lukosius had a frustrating season and, despite being contracted, could be on his way out in the coming weeks. Bailey Humphrey probably hasn’t kicked on as quickly as what pundits thought, although he’s still only two years into his AFL journey.
What they need
Some class with ball in-hand. The Suns didn’t have one player inside the top 40 rated kicks (based on kick rating) across the competition. The answer could be in the 2025 draft as their top academy prospect Zeke Uwland — the brother of Bodhi Uwland — might be the best player in the class. But that doesn’t help the Suns in the short-term. Could the answer be Daniel Rioli? The triple premiership Tiger, who had an excellent 2024 season amid Richmond’s horror win-loss record, has been heavily linked to the Suns, despite being contracted to Richmond until the end of 2027. Rioli’s ball use further up the ground could help the Suns immensely.
What time is it on the premiership clock?
(5pm): Considering this season their list was ranked eighth for both average age and games played, you would’ve hoped by now the Suns’ time would’ve ticked to at least 6pm or even 7pm. But this team and playing list can’t be trusted yet. Hardwick famously said at his first press conference as Gold Coast coach that 80 per cent of his premiership list was sitting in the same room. That should still be the case. But 2025 is truly go-time for the Suns — and Hardwick’s grace period will be over. No more excuses, they must make finals … at least.
Season grade
D
— Ben Waterworth
www.foxsports.com.au
Three word analysis
Home sweet home
What went right
They won a lot of games at home venues! Of their 11 games at either People First Stadium or TIO Stadium, the Suns won 10 of them as they began to make their Carrara venue a fortress. The record-breaking win over Geelong in Darwin was breathtaking, while the victory over Collingwood in late June was inspirational. The Damien Hardwick forward-half DNA was also apparent from early on. They ranked second in the competition for forward-half intercepts, while they were also top seven for inside 50 differential, time in forward half differential and points from forward-half intercepts. Ben King had another solid year in front of goal finishing with 55.26, while Sam Flanders thrived as a full-time midfielder. Sam Collins will be in the All-Australian mix, while Mac Andrew and Bodhi Uwland also starred in defence. Plus the acquisitions of Ben Long via trade and Sam Clohesy via the rookie draft also paid dividends.
What went wrong
They lost a lot of games at away venues! In fact it took until Round 22 against Essendon for the Suns to finally register a win away from Gold Coast and Darwin this year. Significant losses to the Swans (-53 point), Bulldogs (-48) and Giants (-39) were particularly perplexing, considering the momentum Hardwick’s troops had generated in the lead up to all of those matches. A constant frustration for Suns fans and footy pundits this year was Gold Coast’s inefficiency forward of centre. They ranked last in the competition for kick inside 50 retention percentage, while they were also bottom three for scores per inside 50 percentage and forward 50 groundball differential. Jack Lukosius had a frustrating season and, despite being contracted, could be on his way out in the coming weeks. Bailey Humphrey probably hasn’t kicked on as quickly as what pundits thought, although he’s still only two years into his AFL journey.
What they need
Some class with ball in-hand. The Suns didn’t have one player inside the top 40 rated kicks (based on kick rating) across the competition. The answer could be in the 2025 draft as their top academy prospect Zeke Uwland — the brother of Bodhi Uwland — might be the best player in the class. But that doesn’t help the Suns in the short-term. Could the answer be Daniel Rioli? The triple premiership Tiger, who had an excellent 2024 season amid Richmond’s horror win-loss record, has been heavily linked to the Suns, despite being contracted to Richmond until the end of 2027. Rioli’s ball use further up the ground could help the Suns immensely.
What time is it on the premiership clock?
(5pm): Considering this season their list was ranked eighth for both average age and games played, you would’ve hoped by now the Suns’ time would’ve ticked to at least 6pm or even 7pm. But this team and playing list can’t be trusted yet. Hardwick famously said at his first press conference as Gold Coast coach that 80 per cent of his premiership list was sitting in the same room. That should still be the case. But 2025 is truly go-time for the Suns — and Hardwick’s grace period will be over. No more excuses, they must make finals … at least.
Season grade
D
— Ben Waterworth
Swans’ perfect year turns sour on big stage... and sparks GF hoodoo fear: Every club’s 2024 reviewed
Swans’ perfect year turns sour... and sparks GF truth we can’t ignore: Every club’s 2024
www.foxsports.com.au
