Gold Coast coach Rodney Eade says the challenge posed by Sydney’s star-studded midfield is another great learning opportunity for his side’s young onball department.
 
When you consider who is missing from the SUNS engine room – an entire first choice ensemble in Gary Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara, David Swallow and Dion Prestia – it is the equivalent of the Swans missing Brownlow medal favourites Dan Hannebery and Josh Kennedy, as well as Luke Parker and Kieren Jack.
 
That may sound extreme, but that is the reality. Replacing your first four is next to impossible in this game. But what it does do is present another opportunity for Gold Coast’s makeshift group of onballers to test themselves against one of the premier midfields in the AFL. A challenge Eade believes will help their development.
 
“There’s no doubt it was going to be difficult to compete with them when we played them last time. They’ve got a very good midfield,” Eade told SUNS TV on Thursday afternoon.
 
“When you've got your four best midfielders (out) it’s the equivalent of Sydney having out, Kennedy, Parker, Hannebery and Jack.
 
“So you take them out of their side and you put our four in and it swings the scales the other way.
 
“But some players that have played in there have got some real opportunity and taken it. Jesse Lonergan, Aaron Hall to name a couple.
 
“We’ve been really pleased with the growth of the players involved. It’s another test, it’s another learning curve for them.”
 
In the second half of the season, almost out of necessity rather than anything else, Aaron Hall, Jesse Lonergan and Touk Miller have all been asked to elevate their games and compete against some of the best midfields in the game.
 
Lonergan has been handed a handful of run with roles in the last couple of months, jobs that have assisted with his development and education, providing him with a direct assignment each week to work from.
 
“He’s responded really well to having an accountability role – sometimes it’s a full on tag, other times it’s just a reference point to be able to go back to that player. He’s had some really big jobs and exceeded all expectations,” Eade said.
 
“He’s grown each week, incrementally, he’s getting a little bit better, and I think along with that he’s getting more confidence.”