With their coach under intense scrutiny, Gold Coast are preparing to step up and fight for Rodney Eade against West Coast in the AFL.
The Eagles are without star forward Josh Kennedy while the Suns will be boosted by the return of Gary Ablett for the clash at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.
The Suns sit in 16th with three wins and six losses, but Jack Leslie believes the recent criticism of coach Eade will spur the team on against the seventh-placed Eagles.
"It drives us a little bit more if he's getting flogged in the media - we're not up for that," Leslie said.
"Most of the stuff he cops should be on the players, it's what we dished up, it's been effort, our contest, our pressure.
"He can't control much of that at all, but he's been copping it for our actions."
In his final term of a three-year contract, Eade's tenure at the club has been called into question again after back-to-back losses.
The former Sydney coach was expected to provide the Suns with the steel they needed to be a finals contender when he took over as head coach in 2014.
But a series of injuries, player walkouts and off-field dramas has left the oldest coach in the competition fighting off the wooden spoon during September.
Leslie is adamant about the quality of Eade and says one only needs to look at what's happened behind the scenes to understand things are improving for the Suns.
"The thing people don't really see is the cultural standards which have changed since I joined in 2014," Leslie said.
"The amount of professionalism and the change of culture has been massive and that's all on the back of Rocket."
"A few years ago the team were playing with a fair bit of flair and the work ethic and discipline off the field wasn't there. Where as now, we've really set the building blocks and hopefully it's only a one-way road upwards."
But coaches are measured by wins and losses and Eade desperately needs a win come Saturday.
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