Former Gold Coast utility Jordan Murdoch has claimed that scrupulous micro-management is to blame for the expansion side's inability to finish their fixture lists with a flourish.
Having departed the Carrara club at the cessation of this season, the 29-year-old claimed that although the Suns' efforts could not be denied, it was an inability to "switch off from the rigours of AFL footy" that saw their youthful roster out of gas by the bye round each year.
Speaking on SEN SA, the 122-gamer was asked by Michelangelo Rucci and Kym Dillon whether the current crop of names under Stuart Dew's guidance could bring success to the paradise strip
“It’s an interesting question,” Murdoch said.
“The talent on that list is incredible, and the players themselves and their attitudes cannot be faulted."
Still, having spent the past three seasons on the Suns' list, Murdoch suggested that perhaps these efforts were above and beyond what could be deemed effective.
“They’re almost trying too hard in my opinion," he continued.
"Something I think the best clubs do, having talked to others at Richmond and other clubs, is they really time it well, and mental fatigue is put on a pedestal a lot higher than physical fitness."
With an ability to speak openly after calling an end to his AFL career in August of this year, the South Australian who honed his craft within Geelong's successful footballing program expressed that fatigue was at the heart of the issue.
“What I think they could be doing better is giving guys a bit more rest of switch off from the rigours of AFL footy, the programs and that sort of stuff and giving them a bit more ownership over their careers," Murdoch expounded.
“It’s quite sort of micro-managed, and the boys sort of turn into robots a little bit.”
Murdoch's views hold weight given the perennially faltering franchise has won only 25 of a possible 121-games played following their annual bye across their 11-season history - a win rate of just 20.6 per cent.
While finals football has always remained out of reach for the Suns due to these early rises and premature settings, the man who played 14-games for just three wins at the club offered an all-inclusive antidote.
“Basically, the guys are mentally exhausted by the time the middle of the year comes around, and you’ve got a stage where not long after the season is over you’ve got a fair majority of the list, because it’s so young, given off-season programs to the letter of the law, and they don’t get the break that you should get,” Murdoch continued.
“You don’t really get away from the footy program, the boys are supremely fit it’s nothing to do with fitness, and like I said their attitudes are exemplary, they’re doing everything that’s being asked of them, it’s just I think they’re doing too much at it means they start to peak by the time the pre-season games come around."
The recent Glenelg signing then went on to explain that these limps to the finish line weren't lost on those that pulled on the jumper each week.
“You see some really good performances and everyone gets excited, even in the first couple of rounds you get really excited with Gold Coast’s form," Murdoch stated.
“But year after year after year, as long as I can remember, you hit sort of the mid-season mark and there’s a big drop off, you’re not even thinking finals with that sort of stuff.
“It’s a long-rounded answer but it’s my way of saying there has to be something changed around that overall mindset before you’re going to get a change in the club itself, in terms of winning performances.”
With the Suns seen by the average footballing fan as a financial burden rather than an entity worth further handouts, time is ticking on the club to correct their clockwork clock outs.
When the contract status of their coach and several of their key kids in King, Lukosiois and Rankine are also up for renewal at the completion of their next year, the 2022 season is, without doubt, the most important in Gold Coast's young history.
Although those at AFL headquarters will claim their investment in the rapidly expanding region is based around luring eyes to their product, should the potential departure of another fleet of youngsters force the rebuild to begin again, ticket scalpers at Metricon Stadium are unlikely to be run off their feet any time soon.
