GOLD Coast is about to close out its most successful campaign since joining the AFLW, and it has come off the back of specific player recruitment decisions and the opportunity for those players to grow together over two seasons in one year. 

With five wins already on the ledger, and slim, although not impossible, finals hopes still alive, the Suns have doubled their win count this season alone, with three wins last season their previous best. They also beat an inaugural side - Carlton - for the first time last week.  

All despite nine players moving on to other clubs during the off-season. 

Those nine players combined for 144 games' worth of experience at the Suns, leaving a big gap. On top of this, four players were ruled inactive before the season even began: Jade Pregelj (ACL), Maddison Levi, Teagan Levi (rugby commitments) and Alana Gee (back). 

Specific recruitments this year - across both seasons six and seven - have allowed them to cover so much turnover. Vivien Saad has come into her own as a key defensive replacement for Pregelj. Tara Bohanna has provided a solid marking target in attack to cover the loss of Maddison Levi. Jac Dupuy replaces Sarah Perkins as a strong forward target and ruck chop out. Claudia Whitfort and Charlie Rowbottom bolster a midfield that lost Jacqui Yorston and Hannah Dunn. Courtney Jones offers the half forward/midfielder hybrid role for which Kate Surman has become known. 

Those pointed decisions have been paying off, with players recruited for this year responsible for 47.7 per cent of the side's clearances, 58.2 per cent of their goals, 37.2 per cent of intercepts and 36.3 per cent of tackles over seasons six and seven. 

It starts in the middle 

Gold Coast has found more control in games this season, winning an average of 213.4 disposals per game - a club high. With more possession, they have also found better balance between their pressure game - they averaged 67 tackles last season - and their own attack. With more of the ball, fewer tackles are required in an effort to win it back.  

All of that has all started in the middle. The midfield contingent of Rowbottom, Whitfort, Ellie Hampson and Alison Drennan has found a sweet run of chemistry and are winning a club-best 25.6 clearances per game. 

The ability to transition that clearance strength into genuine attack is the next layer to the Suns' improvement. That midfield quartet leads the side for inside 50s this season, with Whitfort averaging a team-high 4.1 per game. 

Leading to more attack 

It's one thing to deliver the ball forward, however having reliable targets to hit up is another. With Tara Bohanna, Jac Dupuy and newest recruit Courtney Jones roaming the forward 50 the Suns have averaged a club-best 4.7 marks inside 50 this season, 45.2 per cent of which have been taken by the trio.  

Those marks inside 50 are now resulting in a larger portion of Gold Coast's score than ever before, with 141 points, or 52 per cent of its score coming from set shots. From these more composed, settled shots on goal, the Suns have also been able to enjoy a club-best goal accuracy, concerting 58.5 per cent of their shots on goal.  

Currently Bohanna and Jones lead the side's goalkicking tally with eight each, while Dupuy follows closely with seven.  

Defending more efficiently 

At the other end of the ground, the Suns have also made strides, defending more reliably and conceding fewer points per game than they ever have before.  

Averaging 62 intercepts - led by Saad who is registering 7.9 per game - opposition teams are scoring less often from their inside 50 entries. In the past the Suns were conceding a score from nearly half of their inside 50s conceded, but this season that has dropped to just 34.4 per cent of inside 50s. This is the third-lowest scoring efficiency conceded across the AFLW this season, trailing only Brisbane and Adelaide in the metric. Added to this, only 15.3 per cent of the time are they giving up a goal. 

With each part of the ground doing its job, and the prospect of gaining Pregelj, Gee and both Levis for next season, Gold Coast is primed for a surge up the ladder in AFLW season eight.