GOLD Coast coach Damien Hardwick has laughed off suggestions his team has been gifted a soft early-season fixture, saying it's more difficult that people are giving it credit for.

The SUNS are sitting pretty with a 4-0 record and are expected to keep their unbeaten run intact when facing Richmond at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.

But with the club experiencing the best start to a season in its 15-year history, some have raised eyebrows at the strength of opposition.

After its Opening Round match against Essendon was postponed due to ex-Tropical Cyclone Alfred, the SUNS have beaten West Coast in Perth, Melbourne at the MCG, Adelaide at People First Stadium and North Melbourne at Gather Round.

Hardwick was not having any criticism.

"To be fair, it's probably right. The reason I signed up here is I wanted a soft draw at the start of the year to get up and going," he quipped.

"The draw's the draw, the narrative's the narrative, we don't really care. You play who you play.

"We’re five games in … It all evens out. It's not as if we play the same sides every second week."

Following the Bombers' postponement, Gold Coast has played just once at home to this stage, getting on planes to travel four times already.

"Our draw hasn't been as easy as what people would think it is," Hardwick said.

"Melbourne people were talking up they'd make the eight, Adelaide would make the eight, so there's two pretty good wins.

"We've played some sides in a different phase, or the same phase in North Melbourne, so you can drive whatever narrative you want, but at the end of the day you play who you play."

And on Saturday night, that opponent is Richmond, the club Hardwick coached to three premierships during his 307 games at the helm.

He said Gold Coast was not in a position to take the rebuilding Tigers lightly.

"They're a club that's had periods of sustained good play, (but) like some sides that are developing, it's in patches they lose games.

"We understand them at their best will be a challenge. We saw what they did to Carlton.

"The competition is really really even. I think it's going to be as hard a year as anyone's encountered.

"Sides will go up and down with their form, that will fluctuate. We've just got to control what we can control, which is the process and systems we have in place."