For the duration of the opening ten rounds, the football landscape across the country has turned a blind eye to the mounting injury toll inside Metricon Stadium. With the Gold Coast SUNS failing to meet expectations, the win-loss record was the only measuring stick used for assessment.

Forget about the debilitating injury list that had wiped out more than a dozen of the best players at the club. Forget about the experience sitting in the stands unable to nurture first, second and third-year players who were out of their depth and playing on seasoned stars.

With the modern game won and lost in the midfield, to have close to six of your best midfielders out, and your starting four – Gary Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara, David Swallow, Dion Prestia, Harley Bennell and Jack Martin – you are always going to struggle to be competitive. Factor in a fixturing nightmare that pits you against four of the best sides in the competition in successive weeks and it won’t look pretty.

Against an all-star Sydney engine room that consists of some of the premier onballers in the competition, Saturday night’s encounter with the Swans was always going to be a gruesome assignment.

“I don’t think the media in Melbourne understand – you’ve got your four best midfielders out, then there’s [Michael] Rischitelli (who was ill), then Harley [Bennell] who’s your best runner,” Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade told the media after the 52-point loss.

“So that’s they equivalent if they took out [Josh] Kennedy, [Kieren] Jack, [Dan] Hannebery, [Luke] Parker and then [Lewis] Jetta didn’t play, I’d like to see their midfield.

“And I think they’d be okay but we struggle for run in the midfield and that’s the reality and that’s not making excuses, but our guys are trying really hard. Our guys are trying really hard.”

Despite the difficult state of injury affairs, the SUNS midfield department is remaining competitive in close, but once the ball leaves the stoppage they are being killed on the spread.

Mitch Hallahan and Michael Rischitelli are strong around the ball, but both aren’t blessed with leg speed. That’s why annihilation's in uncontested possession is becoming a weekly ritual, with the Swans dominating this area on the weekend (+125).

“We lack some size in there at times and the guys that have got size are really slow so we’ve just got to manufacture some effort in there which the guys are doing,” Eade said.

“So I think from that aspect we’re really pleased with what they are doing at the moment.”