Rule change, recruitment and a rejigged midfield are in place to spark a successful Gold Coast AFL campaign in 2017.
The Suns' past two seasons have been luckless through injury and a rotating door of players, meaning there has been no consistency for coach Rodney Eade to work with.
Season 2017 looks to be different, with Suns coaches, staff and fans having their fingers crossed as things start to fall into place.
There has been strong recruitment over summer, the steady stream of injured players is returning and a key rule change will help swing momentum in their favour.
The third-man-up rule forces teams to nominate a ruckman at a contest, and Gold Coast recruit Jarrod Witts has made the best use of his 208cm frame to provide consistent ball for his midfielders.
Touk Miller reaped the rewards of this, saying this created a slick relationship between ruckman and midfield in their round-one derby against Brisbane.
"We had big Wittsy giving us first touch," he told reporters.
"I thought we gelled really well; we won the clearances by four or five, which was really good.
"I thought we had good synergy but, the more you play together, the better."
Recruits Pearce Hanley, Jarryd Lyons and Michael Barlow looked comfortable in their first match in a Suns guernsey, as they worked alongside former captain Gary Ablett to provide consistent ball to key forwards Tom Lynch and Peter Wright.
Another strong sign was the performance of debutants, Ben Ainsworth and Jack Bowes. Ainsworth showed his eye for goal and ability to find space in the final third around his tall forwards.
Eade spoke recently about Bowes' ability to make smart decisions under pressure, and the player displayed this while playing in a half- back role for the Suns, acting as a calm link between defence and midfield.
Bowes' combination with Adam Saad sparked the Suns' counter-attack as Saad earned a startling 344m gained in the second half against the Lions.
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