Gold Coast co-captain Steven May is adamant his Suns won't be the AFL's whipping boys this season under new coach Stuart Dew.
The defender has pointed to improved depth in key positions around him, plus an emphasis on mental toughness as reasons for avoiding the heavy defeats of previous seasons.
May was largely restricted to one-on-one duties last season with the best forward in each opposing team, but hoped to hand that task to the fit-and-firing Rory Thompson.
Fast-tracked Gold Coast junior Max Spencer and Jack Leslie also shape as options if opponents play two or more tall forwards, meaning May can help out and push forward without full-time defensive constraints.
Sam Day is another fit-again tall, likely to be employed by Dew, however he is set to battle Peter Wright for time in the forwards alongside key man Tom Lynch.
"If Rory can lock down the big gorilla up there, whoever it may be, I can help him in the air and the other guys," May said.
"If you look at the best defenders in the comp ... they don't just beat their man - they help out.
"I'm looking ... to have more impact on the game and take it to a new level."
He said Spencer, who debuted last season after joining the club on the rookie list, might play in their Saturday season opener in Cairns against North Melbourne.
"When he walked in last year, I was thinking 'this guy's not going to play'; he was so skinny but he put a lot of work in, debuted, played well and is a chance of starting this week," May said.
"It's a meteoric rise and I'm really happy for him."
May also said Dew's insistence on toughness would help them avoid the blowouts that crippled them last season.
"As the season wore on, we had some really big losses and there's a difference between losing and losing badly in terms of morale around the club," May said.
"It's definitely been a focus of the pre-season, working on the muscles up in our sculls rather than just trying to getting fit."
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