The Gold Coast Suns are staring down the barrel of yet another unsuccessful season, heading into Round 6 with just one win on the board.
The Suns, who officially joined the league ahead of the 2011 home and away season, have consistently been unimpressive throughout their short history. The club is yet to feature in finals, has seen three captains depart the club for brighter futures elsewhere, and has had three senior coaches - not including Dean Solomon in an interim position in 2017.
The young talent of Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Jack Lukosius and Ben King, among others, seemed to spark hope that this Gold Coast side could be something better in 2023 after a 2022 season saw them finish in 12th spot.
Those pundits who predicted a little more fire from the Suns were wrong, though. A Round 3 win over Geelong is their lone victory of the season thus far, and while that 19-point win over the reigning premiers could have been the swing in momentum, the Suns needed to get their season on track, and they backed it up with a 53-point loss to St Kilda the following week.
Skipper Touk Miller is a consistent workhorse in the Suns' side and finished in third spot on the Brownlow Medal leaderboard last year, just two votes (27) behind winner Patrick Cripps (29). The next highest Sun, Anderson, finished on 14 votes.
The captain has continued his fine form this season, averaging 27.6 disposals, 7.4 clearances and seven tackles per game so far.
Gold Coast's fellow expansion counterparts, GWS, sit alongside them down the bottom half of the ladder this season, with both sides looking non-threatening thus far into the year. The main difference between the two though, the Giants have lived a whole life the Suns haven't experienced yet.
GWS won just two games in their inaugural year, made finals in 2016, featured in the 2019 grand final - a loss to Richmond - then began their descent down the ladder as they started a rebuild. They traded big names last year to prioritise young talent, they have a new coach at the helm, they have - while it hasn't been quite realised yet - a vision.
The Suns, meanwhile, spent last year's trade period preparing for the 2023 draft. They lost Jack Bowes, Josh Corbett, Izak Rankine and a host of picks, including Pick 7, but gained five future selections.
These preparations seem to be for Academy kids set to come through the draft in 2023, with the hope that these selections will be the ones to see the fledgling club climb up the ladder, finally.
That hasn't seemed to work so far for the Suns though, who were granted concessions upon their entry to the AFL up until 2015. In that time, the Suns finished no higher than 12th on the ladder.
Now, in his sixth season at the helm, head coach Stuart Dew is facing the same scrutiny that has plagued him almost every millisecond of his coaching career so far. However, this time, the Suns board, and the AFL, could be losing patience.
Speaking on AFL360 in the lead-up to Round 6, Dewย admitted that feeling under pressure was the reality of being a senior coach, with season 2023 feeling no different.
โI never really feel the tide (of pressure) go away, to be honest,โ Dew said.
โOne or two weeks can take that feeling away, but that feeling only goes away for two days.
โOnce that next game starts to come around, there's pressure there to perform.
โI'm the face of it so I understand that.
โI don't feel under any less or more pressure depending on what's happened. That's the reality of elite sport."
Despite Dew's comments, there's no doubt that the pressure surrounding the Suns is tangible. The AFL has invested millions upon millions of dollars into an expansion project that many could, and do, aptly describe as a failure and must be getting desperate to see some positive results from their Carrara-based project.
The Suns now have the challenge of the Alastair Clarkson-coached Kangaroos in Round 6, a hungry young side hunting their second win of the season. Should they lose the Sunday afternoon clash, the Suns will fall to a 1-5 record, all but cementing their place on the lower rungs of the ladder for the rest of the season.
With Dew having penned a contract extension until at least the end of 2024 last year, there's no doubt the senior coach needs to see some improvement from his side to see out his contract. While longer term, it's time Gold Coast start proving they are a worthwhile asset for the league.
Tasmania's calls for an expansion team are being heeded, while speculation has swirled around where a potential 20th team could be based. If these prospective clubs can prove their worth in the AFL landscape, time may be running out for the Gold Coast Suns.
