With a fresh rebrand and a bold red-out guernsey, the dawn of a new era at the Gold Coast Suns began with a bang at Optus Stadium on Sunday.
The Suns ran out 87-point victors, the largest winning margin in club history, dominating in all facets over a young Eagles side. It is early, but the signs suggesting that the club could finally be ready to make their first ever finals appearance are legitimate.
Let's break down the promising details of Gold Coast's Round 1 domination of the Eagles.
Hardwick system in full effect
You would be remiss not to suggest that the Suns played in an eerily similar fashion to a former team of senior coach Damien Hardwick on Sunday, the fingerprints of his "chaos ball" system that led Richmond to three AFL premierships all over this contest.
The Suns were incredibly effective at generating inside 50s despite hovering around the middle of the pack for disposals this round amongst all 18 AFL clubs. It's a style reminiscent of the 2017 and 2018 Tigers, who were bottom five in disposals per game in each of those years yet ranked third and second for inside 50s in each of those years respectively.
The prolific attacking nature of the Tigers dynasty typically stemmed from turnovers inside their forward half and an elite ability to win the ground ball. Gold Coast were a perfect mirror image of this on Sunday, as they took 11 intercept marks in their forward half in the first 25 minutes of the match alone.
In their second-quarter surge, there were constantly red jumpers ready at the spill of the ball, and the resulting goals knocked the Eagles out of the contest quickly. In total, the Suns scored 90 points off turnovers, highlighting the tenacity they brought to the west around the footy and their disciplined structure behind the ball. For a team that struggled mightily on the road in 2024, this effort was certainly a welcome sign.
In addition to the Suns' elite crumbing of ground balls inside 50, the combination of forwards Ben King and Ben Long was arguably the biggest factor in their success. They kicked 10 goals between them and took 12 of Gold Coast's 19 marks inside 50, which led the AFL this week. Their impact further signifies Hardwick's system entering full flight.
Between 2017 and 2020, Hardwick's Tigers never finished lower than fourth for marks inside 50 per game, but he has struggled to recreate those successes with Gold Coast, finishing bottom four in this statistic last season. The tide may be finally turning in his favour and, as a result, Gold Coast could be the real deal.
Must-watch midfield
The Suns may genuinely have three All-Australians standing next to each other at every centre bounce this season. Touk Miller, Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson tore apart the Eagles midfield and completely nullified Harley Reid's impact by simply getting to every ball first.
Miller (26 disposals, two goals) appears to be back to his fully healthy best, with his run and carry creating seven score involvements. Anderson brought his own pill, leaving Perth with 36 disposals to his name and Rowell bulldozed his way to 30 disposals and eight tackles. The three combined for 29 of Gold Coast's 50 clearances, manhandling West Coast's inexperienced inside group, with Reid most notably only having one clearance for the entire match after averaging five per game last season.
How the umpires determine the Brownlow votes will be difficult, but regardless of the outcome, these three have put the league on notice. The Suns' next game in Round 3 against the Melbourne Demons, at the MCG no less, is a spectacle in the making.
Recruits shining
What will please Suns fans most was how seamless their off-season recruits fit in on Sunday. Daniel Rioli was electric off half-back, kicking two goals in an efficient 21-disposal outing. John Noble also appeared comfortable in his pivotal role down back, picking up 19 disposals at 73.7% efficiency. He made a number of strong defensive plays to shut down any West Coast surge, finishing as one of the game's leaders in defensive pressure acts.
The Suns were bottom-six in points allowed last season but with these recruits already providing solid production, there's a good chance this poor area can turn around in 2025.
Of course, the Eagles appear to be a lowly side again in 2025, but that shouldn't take away from the stark improvements Gold Coast illustrated in their opening match.
If they produce a similar performance against the Demons after this week's bye, their legitimacy as a true finals contender could be stamped.
