Stuart Dew says he loved his first year as Gold Coast coach, even though the luckless Suns finished second-last on the ladder and won only one of their final 18 games.
Their season-ending match on Saturday was pretty much symptomatic of a campaign when little went right as Gold Coast lost key defender Jack Leslie to a serious knee injury in the opening few minutes of a 102-point loss to red-hot Geelong.
"I didn't laugh but it was like Candid Camera," said Dew.
"One minute in and you lose your centre half-back who is set (to play on Tom) Hawkins so then you've got (Steven) May for (Patrick) Dangerfield or (Gary) Ablett forward, but injuries happen.
"Then you're shuffling your mids more forward than off the ground, so I think we were a little bit gassed in the end.
"We ran out of legs."
With Tom Lynch due to join one of the big Melbourne clubs in the trade period and co-skipper May's future up in the air, it shapes as a crucial off-season for the expansion club.
But Dew insists it hasn't all been doom and gloom.
"I've loved the year, actually, getting to know the whole club and the players," he said.
"It's been a challenging year, unique with our travel."
The Suns did not play at home until round 11 because Metricon Stadium had been reconfigured as an athletics venue for the Commonwealth Games.
"We didn't speak much about it but I actually think that travel and time together will hold us in good stead going forward.
"Obviously (it was) not ideal at the time but you get over it.
"As a club I think we've become really aligned. We see growth throughout the whole club.
"There's much to like - it hasn't transferred to win-loss but we're not alone in that area."
