THE Gold Coast Suns just talk, every single season.
They pledge to improve, they tell us the next season will be the one in which they finally finish in the top eight. They tease, they look OK in certain matches, but lose crunch matches.
This year, yet again, was going to be different. A new coach started talking finals, and even premierships, before he started. The chairman and his board, along with the CEO, all got giddy with excitement and made similar public musings. Season 2024, the club's 14th in the AFL, was going to be a year of success.
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This year, yet again, was not different. Another underwhelming year has unfolded. The words were hollow. Four matches remain in a 23-game season. The Suns are 9-10, and sit eight premiership points and a heap of percentage outside the top eight.
If this club was based in the firepit of competition and media wars in Victoria, it would be subjected to way more scrutiny than it has received, particularly after failing to capitalise on being gifted one of the easiest fixtures this season, where it had been scheduled to play each of the worst three teams – Richmond, North Melbourne and West Coast – twice.
Last Saturday's loss to Brisbane was so typical of the Suns. To that point, they hadn't lost a match at their home venue, the season was still alive and the Lions were without defenders Harris Andrews, Jack Payne, Darragh Joyce, Keidean Coleman, Darcy Gardiner and Tom Doedee.
The 28-point loss was the club's third defeat from the past four matches, and fifth from the past seven. It meant a miracle is now required to make the finals.
And as per usual, the Suns coach, even after his club had failed to seize its most important moment of the entire season, sought to reassure everyone that next year looks promising.
"I've got a really strong belief in this group, and I'm hoping it's this year but I certainly think it will be not too long away … they are a group that is capable of more, I hope they understand that, I hope they believe that and I hope our fans understand that as well," said Damien Hardwick after the round 20 loss.
Line those words up with those defiantly spruiked by Hardwick to Michael Whiting on AFL.com.au in February: "We're not developing any more, we've got a group capable of doing great things. I'm not going to put a ceiling on it, but I'm certainly going to put a floor for us – it's finals. We're destined to take that next step, but we've got to understand the work involved in that."
Hardwick had been long identified as the next Suns coach before club chairman Bob East and CEO Mark Evans moved to sack Stuart Dew last year. That duo was very happy with its work when Hardwick miraculously recovered from being burnt out at Richmond to being reinvigorated enough to walk straight back into coaching less than 100 days later.
East, like Hardwick, was all-in on the Suns in 2024.
"I think the pass mark for 2024 is finals," East told the Seven Network in February. He followed up with AFL.com.au in the same month: "We need to be playing finals, we need to be competing for premierships … our unequivocal goal is to win premierships."
Hardwick clearly began questioning the finals capabilities of his team after a loss to North Melbourne in round 17. The only other team the Roos have beaten this year is the woeful West Coast.
"I'm angry, to be fair," Hardwick said after that game. "As a footy club, we've got to grow the f*** up, to be perfectly honest."
On the day Hardwick accepted the Suns job in August last year, he was prepared to talk premierships, when he said "eighty per cent of our first premiership side" was already on the playing list.
Gold Coast has only twice in its life reached a double-digit outcome of wins in a season, with 2014 and 2022 both producing 10 victories.
The Suns have many good players on their list. Sam Collins has had a good season in defence. Bodhi Uwland is highly promising. Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson, as always, have been prominent in the club's wins, but need to provide greater impact in all matches. Mac Andrew has taken good steps this season as a key back. Ben King has been solid, but his past 12 shots at goal in the past fortnight have produced just one major. Sam Clohesy looks a star in the making. Sam Flanders racks up disposals. Touk Miller has had better seasons than 2024 but is still an A-grade midfielder, and ruck Jarrod Witts always gives everything.
Hardwick is a smart man, a three-time premiership coach. As a minimum, he now needs to steer his Suns to wins in their remaining four matches of this 23-game home-and-away 2024 season, and then hope for other teams around them on the ladder to lose, if he is to deliver on his "floor" expectation of making finals.
But as always with this club, next year already looks bright. The coach said so straight after the loss to Brisbane last Saturday.
Rinse, repeat, disappoint.
