We've seen this story many times before, where club champions miss out on success despite building the organisation from the ground up.
Nathan Jones. Brad Johnson. Matthew Pavlich. Nathan Buckley. Nick Riewoldt. Bob Murphy. Robert Harvey. Even Gary Ablett Snr never achieved the ultimate success.
Gold Coast icon and inaugural player David Swallow missed Wednesday's 95-point win over Essendon as the club locked in its first-ever finals campaign.
After 15 gruelling seasons, the Suns will finally feature in September, which has long been the goal for Swallow.
The 32-year-old walked into the club as Pick 1 in the 2010 National Draft, and has played 247 games since, sitting as the Suns' games record holder.
He co-captained the club between 2019 and 2021. He was awarded the 2014 best and fairest. But he's never played a final.
Sitting largely outside Damien Hardwick's side for much of the 2025 season due to injury and form, Swallow poses as a potential hard-luck story.
And his coach dissected the "really, really hard decision".
"He certainly is (pushing for selection)," Hardwick said on Channel 7 post-game.
"He was close this week. It's one of those ones where it's the heart versus the head. We just have to work our way through it.
"One thing I will say is there will be statues built for this footy club at some stage, he will be the one they build first. He stayed when everyone else probably left.
"He set the fabric of our footy club. He is so important to the make-up of our organisation. It's going to be a really, really hard decision.
"But what I do know, whichever way the decision goes, he will be fully supportive of this group. He's put the club first his whole career. He's taken less, given money back.
"He's a player that we think incredibly highly of, and there's no doubt that will come into the decision-making at some stage."
Swallow last played in the senior side in Rounds 18 and 19 as the sub against fellow contenders Collingwood and Adelaide.
But that role was most recently occupied by Jake Rogers and Sam Flanders.
The Suns' first-ever final will be against Fremantle in Perth on Saturday, September 6.
