Gold Coast was searching for rays of positivity from its JLT Community Series outing against the Western Bulldogs. And it got one almost immediately through Izak Rankine.

Within 90 seconds of the match commencing, last year's pick No.3 collected the footy cleanly off the ground and dribbled though a brilliant goal from deep inside the pocket.

It was a tiny glimpse of Rankine's immense potential, but it was enough for Suns fans to hang their hats on – the young South Australian could very well be the real deal.

"It was a good start," Gold Coast senior coach Stuart Dew said after the game.

"It's no fluke, though. He practises those. Whenever you see those goals, it's no luck. They practise them over and over and it's nice when it comes off in a game."

Rankine was one of a number of young Suns to impress in a narrow five-point victory over the Bulldogs, with fellow top-six picks Jack Lukosius and Ben King also featuring.

A promising midfield group comprised of Brayden Fiorini, Ben Ainsworth and Jack Bowes all impressed to help Gold Coast overcome its far more experienced opposition.

Charlie Ballard was exciting down back, while Wil Powell was lively up forward, as the hosts held off a series of late fightbacks to record a satisfying victory by less than a kick.

"It was good to get a close game actually," Dew said.

"We try to practice those ones at training, but it's never the same against yourself. To have a tight game, it was a good lead-in for us.

"We're really striving for consistency this year, and at times the game ebbed and flowed, but I think all in all we were reasonably consistent."