The acid is now undeniably on a very talented Gold Coast midfield that seems bereft of leadership since the departure of Gary Ablett due to shoulder surgery.
The "little master" wasn't at last week's clash with Brisbane, which raised eyebrows; certainly there is an expectation at most clubs on an injured leader being there to watch the senior team play. Regardless of who is or isn't in the stands, it is time for the young players to stand up on the field. Coach Guy McKenna will expect a much-improved response against St Kilda at Metricon Stadium on Saturday as their past two games have been insipid for differing reasons.
For the second week in a row, Gold Coast's midfield wereoutworked and outclassed, but it was their lack of accountability that was most alarming.
Against the Western Bulldogs in Cairns the Suns fell away. Maybe they were weary from the resounding win over Collingwood the week before. But Bulldog Jack Macrae was allowed to free wheel his way to a match-winning 41 possessions and kick two important final term goals for the Dogs. Nothing was done to prevent, limit or hinder the young star as a head-to-head mindset from various Suns mids encouraged him to stat up at will. At least they were in the game though at three-quarter time in round 17 with the margin being just two points.
There is empathy for a group that has to scathingly review a poor performance then wait until after a bye to make amends. The two weeks to mentally replay such a lacklustre effort was raised with Suns assistant coach Mark Riley in the lead up to the QClash. Riley is a highly experienced coach. He noted that many young attacking midfielders need to be taught to run defensively when they enter the game. He had been pleased with the two-way mindset of the Suns midfielders throughout 2014. Riley also felt training during the break had shown a vibrant, energetic group looking to respond in the QClash.
The first quarter statistics against Brisbane however were an embarrassment. If being 41 points down to the 15th side wasn't bad enough, 11 players had eight disposals between them and Brisbane was running rampant.
This is where accountability and an ability to stem the tide through defensive pressure must take effect. The onfield leaders were abysmal.
Danny Stanley had the job on Tom Rockliff who was prolific finishing with 46 disposals and 11 clearances. David Swallow found himself at times on Pearce Hanley and he clearly couldn't contain the Irishman while managing just six disposals himself during the carnage in the first half. Hanley's 45 possessions were sublime in the conditions, but his power running along the wing past numerous Suns players to receive a handball inside 50 and finish a goal unmanned showed the cavernous gap in workrate.
This is backed up by the fact that Gold Coast averaged 206.3 uncontested possessions from rounds one to 16, with a drop to 136.5 over these past two performances. The 116 uncontested possessions they had on the weekend was the lowest they had ever recorded.
But the focus can't just be on "I need to get a kick to influence and change the momentum of the game" there has to be a Plan B. There has to be a sense that your direct opponent has got plenty of the footy, that the screws must be tightened or at least a message from the runner.
The momentum continued to flow in favour of Brisbane as weak minds went into their shell. Free kicks at centre square bounces for holding on and being dictated to at defensive stoppages are both telltale signs of a team not only under pressure, but unwilling to communicate and work together.
Dion Prestia, who tossed the coin on the weekend, Jaeger O'Meara and many others were non-existent early in what was a stark reminder of what happens in this game with a lack of effort against a fierce opponent. Beaten inside and outside the contest, there is no more obvious statistic to show the influence of Ablett in that leading into round 17, Gold Coast was the No. 1 side at clearances, averaging 41.9 a game. In the past two weeks, that figure has dropped to 36.5 and has plummeted the Suns to 13th. The impact from this drop off has a flow to their score sources with the Suns being ranked top three (behind the Hawks and Port) for scoring from a stoppage situation in the first 16 weeks. In the past fortnight, they are in the bottom four.
One thing in their favour this week is that St Kilda has allowed the opposition an average of 106.5 marks against for the past four weeks. Gold Coast is surely going to improve on the solitary mark taken in the opening stanza versus Brisbane.
Looking purely at the spine, with Steven May, Rory Thompson, Prestia, Tom Lynch and Sam Day there is more than enough talent to compensate for the loss of even a dual Brownlow medallist.
The loss of Ablett should have been the making of this side. An opportunity presented itself to a talent-laden group. They must grow in stature and take ownership of a team that should be desperate to appear in its first finals campaign. Time to be counted, or book the footy trip for September.
