The most notable aspect of Gold Coast's 68-point thumping of Geelong on Saturday night was its swift and aggressive ball movement.

After two seasons of playing largely in-tight, contested footy under Stuart Dew, the SUNS coach is keen to release the shackles in 2020 with a wave of fleet-footed additions at his disposal.

Against the Cats, Gold Coast kicked 17 goals from 37 scoring shots, and although the opposition was well below its best, the intent to attack was obvious.

"We want to play an exciting brand of footy," Dew said following the match.

"We want to encourage them to keep having a go at it, and if they miss, particularly now when there's not four points on the line, they can go at it with a bit more freedom. 

"No doubt when the season comes that's going to bring greater pressure, we know that, and we look forward to it."

Although Dew conceded it would take time to continue progressing his gameplan – with eight players making their Gold Coast debut against Geelong – he said it was a method they would stick at.

The midfield was dynamic, with two-time premiership Tiger Brandon Ellis (22 disposals) adding pace to the wing, and Lachie Weller (19) adding extra zip in his new midfield role.

Highly touted draftees Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson add a mix of inside and outside speed, while Darcy Macpherson's second quarter half-volley, running bounce through the middle and kick across his body to an unmarked teammate typified the aggressive play.

"Geelong are a seasoned team and we know when we play them in round two it'll be a different game, but certainly for our guys, we just concentrated on what we wanted to do," Dew said.

"Hopefully people watching, particularly our supporters, can see what we're trying to implement to play competitive footy and win games."

Dew said co-captain Jarrod Witts (foot surgery) would not play against Adelaide in two weeks but would be right for round one. 

Meanwhile, Geelong is set to be bolstered by the return of its skipper Joel Selwood for its final Marsh Community Series match against Essendon on March 9.

Assistant coach Corey Enright said Selwood's recovery from hamstring surgery was progressing well.

"With the two weeks now he can really benefit and get a hard (training) block in," Enright said.

"We think he'll play some minutes in that game, along with potentially a few other guys that are well into their preparation we'd like to see again."

Enright said Geelong was not overly concerned by its performance against the SUNS, with the Cats missing a number of players and tinkering with positions – including sending Patrick Dangerfield forward for much of the night – to expose youngsters.

Quinton Narkle (26 disposals), Tom Atkins (22) and Jordan Clark were three of Geelong's four most prolific ball winners, while Dangerfield (16) and Ablett (8) were far quieter than usual.

"We'd like to play a bit better next time we take the field, no doubt," he said.

"We have to get back to working hard and working together.

"We've got time and we've got faith in what we're about and where we're going to go.

"Patty is a pretty influential figure inside the centre bounces and around the stoppages.

"Without him we obviously look a different team, but it was great to see some of those (younger) guys in there, and there was some really good things, but there's a lot to work on as well."