Gold Coast SUNS Coach Guy McKenna could not have been happier with the application of his team that was pitted against a near full-strength West Coast, even if he did had to lay down the law on the odd occasion.

The GC SUNS came into the match with only Michael Rischitelli, Nathan Krakouer, Jarrod Harbrow and Danny Stanley having AFL experience, but that didn’t stop them from being more than competitive with West Coast for more than three quarters.

Harley Bennell, who was drafted from WAFL club Peel Thunder, was one young player who impressed with a couple of goals, but he had to make up for a failed "party trick" that he attempted in the first quarter which left his coach far from impressed.

"After the first quarter we spoke to him about playing the basics and he didn’t do that in the first quarter," McKenna said.

"He got a fairly stern message and was able to turn it around, but just ran out of gas towards the end of the game.

"He showed a bit of mental maturity. We just tell him to keep to the basics. He has the talent and when you get the feel of the game and understand where the opposition is, and the tempo, then that's when the party tricks can come out. Until then, though, trying to kick goals out of mid air should be saved."

There were a host of youngsters that impressed McKenna including Sam Day, Seb Tape (who had a team-high 20 possessions), and Dan Gorringe who was in the ruck against Dean Cox and Nic Naitanui.

"Sammy Day took a leave of absence prior to Christmas due to family commitments. That held his pre-season back a bit, but he's going to be a very good player for us. We know that and for him to get through the game time that he did was fantastic," McKenna said.

"The other South Australian Sebby Tape was great. He played on Adam Goodes last week and he's backed it up again. That's another challenge for all the young guys, too, to be able to back up. Getting that consistency comes with experience and age.

"I know that the actual hit-outs don't look favourable, but Dan Gorringe fought on against a 15-time All Australian (Cox) and one of the most exciting talents going around in the ruck (Naitanui), so I thought he threw his hand up."

Looking to next week's clash with Sydney, McKenna expects Rischitelli, Harbrow and Krakouer to be helped by the return of Nathan Bock, Josh Fraser and Daniel Harris.

However, Gary Ablett and Jared Brennan won't make their first appearance until the season-opener against Carlton in round two.

"Most of those senior boys will play next week. Nathan Bock hasn’t had a run, of course, so will be right to play. I think Gary won't play next week, Jared Brennan probably won't play next week and Josh Fraser and Daniel Harris are both available," McKenna said.

"We will get some senior boys back on the park that's for sure. Given what I've seen of Gary he probably doesn’t need a great deal of touch, but it's just about getting the miles in his legs. He was keen to play the Sydney game, but stepped on the pedal too far and got sore.

"That set him back a week or two, but he will still have a good five-week going into round two even if he doesn’t play. I'm sure that will be enough for him."