In the wake of his first season at the helm of the Gold Coast SUNS, a reflective Rodney Eade has lauded his side’s resolve during a year where an injury plague not only wiped out quantity, but also quality, with more than a handful of the best players inside Metricon Stadium missing large chunks of football in 2015.
 
Discussion in the week leading into the closing round of the home and away season centred on Fremantle and North Melbourne’s decision to rest close to half their side ahead of their finals campaigns. A decision that brought the game’s integrity into question and led to widespread debate.
 
For almost the entire 2015 campaign, Eade has had a diminished cupboard to choose from each week. Four of the SUNS' best players and the four best midfielders – Gary Ablett, David Swallow, Jaeger O’Meara and Dion Prestia – were barely sighted, leading the veteran coach to draw attention to the dire state of affairs Gold Coast has been forced to deal with on a weekly basis.
 
“We’ve got to take a look from our situation the last thirteen or fourteen weeks – people talking about Fremantle resting ten and they end up losing by 70, North rest eight or nine or ten,” Eade told the media in his post-match press conference on Saturday night.
 
“We’ve had ten to 12 of our best 22 out for 12, 14 weeks and we’ve stayed in games for a really long time. I’ve been really thrilled with the way the guys have gone about it.”
 
A six-goal to zero opening term at the SCG was far from an ideal start for Gold Coast on Saturday night, but the SUNS produced a superb transformation after the first break. Had they made the most of their chances in the third quarter, there is every chance Gold Coast would have hit the lead.
 
Eade praised the middle quarters of the game, suggesting the poor start was due to the SUNS inability to abide by instructions. By the final term, the former Sydney and Western Bulldogs mentor revealed that his side simply ran out of petrol, as the Swans piled on the pain to run away with a 63-point win.
 
“It was a disappointing first quarter. We didn’t follow instructions – they got the jump,” Eade said.
 
“I thought our second and third quarters were terrific and then we just ran out of legs, we just fatigued in that last quarter.
 
“Really for a long time, against sides that are in the eight, and even the top four, we’ve been really competitive and stayed in games really until we’ve either won or drawn against West Coast, or we’ve stayed in the game until three quarter time.
 
“With the amount of players we’ve had out, I think it’s been a terrific effort from our guys.”