They’re at opposite ends of the ladder but in good news for the struggling Gold Coast, Brisbane coach Chris Fagan can see similarities between their AFL clubs ahead of Saturday’s QClash.
The Lions have won seven straight games and could finish the season on top of the table while the Suns have lost a club-record 15 straight to sit dead last.
But, speaking together ahead of Saturday’s Gabba clash, there was admiration from Fagan towards Suns counterpart Stuart Dew, who he says is doing all the right things to follow the Lions up the ladder.
Brisbane finished last season in 15th place with just five wins – one more than the Suns, who used their off-season to overhaul the club and adopt a longer-term plan for success.
That’s how Fagan has found fortune in Brisbane and the former Hawthorn football boss was eager to praise his counterpart on Wednesday.
“I reckon he’s right; you can see a lot of similarities between where we were this time last year and where they are now,” he said.
“If I was Stuey I’d be feeling positive about where his team’s at.
“Just hang in there, because you never know when it’s going to turn around and it can happen reasonably quickly like it has for us this season.”
The Suns have copped heat for allowing midfielder Jarryd Lyons to join Brisbane and become one of their best-performed players.
But Dew argued that his departure was necessary short-term “pain” needed to build a sustainable squad.
“We can look back in two or three years and it’ll be a win-win,” Dew said of Lyons’ move.
“We needed to put up with a little bit of pain to expose some younger players to be better.
“We made some decisions at end of last year that we knew might cause a bit of pain this year in terms of win-loss, but thought would hold us in good stead.”
Gold Coast have re-signed as many as 10 quality players this year, headlined by captain David Swallow, draftee Izak Rankine and up-and-comers Jack Bowes and Ben Ainsworth.
Callum Ah Chee and Jack Martin are the two major off-contract targets Dew is hopeful of retaining in a squad that is far more complete than it was a year ago.
“The reason players stay is that they’re happy with the environment and the culture,” he said.
“We’d love to have a real good run with the bulk of that group playing together and when we put our best 22 on the board that helps you sleep at night.”
