Damien Hardwick was refreshingly transparent with his explanation of Jack Lukosius' axing from the Round 22 side, revealing that the former number two pick himself opted for a spell in the reserves to hopefully rejuvenate some good form.
With glaring depth in their tall stocks especially, Hardwick has struggled to formulate a team that includes all available options, with Ben King, Mac Andrew, Jed Walter and Lukosius all seemingly fighting for the same spot at times this season.
Hardwick opened up on the dilemma he faces with his young crop, copping some of the blame for his struggle to fit such a talented option into his scheme.
"I understand the narrative, but Jack's such an important player to our footy club, some of it's on me, some of it's on Jack. He's got some areas of his game that I'd certainly like him to improve but also I've got to sit there and, as a coach, try and figure out how I'm going to get the best out of this kid, because I'm not at the moment."
"Credit where credit's due, he wanted to play this week in the VFL and I said 'let's have a circuit-breaker, let's reset, re-jig and move forward'."
"I've got to harness his talent and utilise it to the best of our ability. He's been trying to do things that I've asked him to do. He's trying his backside off, so we'll keep working through it."
Rumours have swirled recently on the potential for a home-coming move for Lukosius back to South Australia, though Hardwick hopes to hold his contracted prodigy.
Part of the coach's dilemma comes with his newfound target up forward, 20-year-old Mac Andrew, who has booted seven majors in his last two weeks, including Saturday night's match-winner after the siren.
"It was pretty special," the Suns coach reflected.
"He's 21 I think... which is scary."
"We're hoping he's a Suns player for a long period of time. He can play both ends, he's got a bit of swagger, he's aggressive, he's assertive."
"I reckon Kingy's (Ben King) a better player with him in the side, because all of a sudden we've got another athletic tall."
Whether to keep him up forward, where he has shown capability to influence results, or revert back to an intercepting role, which he has also excelled in, is a decision Hardwick is not comfortable making yet.
"Good question. One that I probably haven't got the answer to. We're very fortunate, we've got some young emerging talls coming through. He's very very good down back, so I'd love to say that I've got the answer but I've probably got more questions than answers at the moment."
Regardless, the one-point win over a desolate Essendon outfit was just the scalp Gold Coast and Hardwick needed to right the wrongs of their woeful away record ahead of the upcoming off-season, where a focus on taking their good form on the road will surely be prioritised.
"Good sides, and we're on the way to becoming that, they win ugly," Hardwick added.
"Finally the Marvel gods smiled on us today... happy for our club."