GOLD Coast is still figuring out how to replace the gaping hole left by injured young star Ben King, but coach Stuart Dew says his absence won't change the way his team plays.

King ruptured his ACL during match simulation earlier this month, leaving the Suns without their leading goalkicker from 2021 for the next 12 months.

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Dew said there was no self-pity when the incident occurred, rather his thoughts quickly went to King and how Gold Coast could use the remainder of the pre-season to re-shape its forward line.

"Any time you see someone go down it's hard to see," Dew told AFL.com.au.

"You just feel for him that he won't be able to test himself this year.

"When I saw him after, he apologised. He was like 'sorry I'm not going to be able to help the team'. 

"That shows where his mindset is at, he's a pretty unselfish player.

"He'll turn this into a positive and come back a better player."

King has returned to Melbourne to be with his family ahead of surgery.

Dew's headache remains how to replace his tallest and most dangerous target, saying the pre-season matches against Port Adelaide (February 25) and Geelong (March 7) would be a good learning tool.

"Clearly, he (King) was going to be a prominent figure there," Dew said.

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"We've got to turn it into a positive and be a little more unpredictable.

"Some guys will have an opportunity to step up. We can go a bit taller or a bit smaller, those guys are having a good pre-season.

"We've got some decisions to make."

King's good mate Jack Lukosius will be one taller target, while Richmond recruit Mabior Chol will be another with his ability to offer support in the ruck.

But Dew is then pondering whether to play Levi Casboult, Josh Corbett, or spring-heeled Joel Jeffrey, who has impressed in pre-season training. Sam Day (wrist) will be touch and go to be available by round one.

Then there's a plethora of smaller forwards including Ben Ainsworth, Izak Rankine, Nick Holman, Alex Sexton and Darcy Macpherson.

One thing Dew said would not change though was the gameplan Gold Coast had worked on for the past few months.

"We're confident in the gameplan we've been training, whether we are tall or small, we think it caters for both," he said.

"We won't change our ball movement because Kingy's not there."