David King believes Gold Coast must build on the selection integrity demonstrated when they dropped Izak Rankine, after another listless performance.
The former No. 3 selection was axed after a derby defeat to Brisbane, but on Sunday afternoon it appeared the message had not been successfully imprinted upon his teammates.
The Suns were eviscerated by Melbourne, as they conceded an inside 50 differential of -44 and 14 consecutive goals on the back of low intensity and poor ball use from their back half.
It came just eight days after a healthy half-time lead over Brisbane turned into a 49-point defeat; on each occasion, they eked out just one major after the long break.
“You could throw a VFL team out there and get that sort of a return,” King told SEN’s Whateley.
“We could cobble a team together in the offices in here that could stump up two goals.
“That’s uncompetitive. That’s substandard.”
Under Stuart Dew the Suns playing group, if not the overall project, has been afforded patience, after their inaugural team was slowly dismantled.
Dion Prestia and Jaeger O’Meara departed in 2016, former skipper Gary Ablett and Adam Saad followed in 2017, while co-captains Tom Lynch and Steven May fled at the end of 2018
Now Rankine, defender Jack Lukosius and key forward Ben King are staples in the team in just their third year on the list, as are Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson in their second.
As a consequence, the Gold Coast team that ran onto Marvel Stadium on Sunday averaged just 62.6 games, well behind the Demons’ 89.9 per head.
King is coming around to the belief that it is reasonable to set a competitive baseline for their fledgling talent, however.
“I hate picking apart these young kids at the Suns, but they say you’ve got to be honest, you’ve got to give us the direct feedback you would give other teams,” he explained.
“I saw Ben Brown just do a basic wrap-around lead out of full forward against Jack Lukosius, and he didn’t even touch him.
“This is cut-throat AFL footy. I don’t know whether it doesn’t mean enough, I don’t know whether they don’t reward enough behind the scenes.”
King wonders whether fourth-year coach Dew, despite his evident tactical nous, can lift the club from its torpor.
“He’s a ripping football person, he’s got great football insights and intel, and when you sit with him, he’s brilliant to talk footy with,” he began.
“But I don’t see it in this group consistently enough. It ebbs and flows.
“Some days they’re good, and then you don’t see it for six quarters. And then they’re back for another three quarters, then you don’t see it for another four quarters.
“That’s been their year. That’s been their whole club. I don’t know what the answer is, we don’t have the answers, but something has to change.”
The dual-premiership Roo believes the next step may be sending more players for a spell, rather than operating under the fear they may become disgruntled and head for the exit.
“I know they’re building a culture up there, and trying to get these kids to stay,” King acknowledged.
“For the first time, they made a brave decision by dropping Izak Rankine last week. Maybe they have got to go deeper.
“Maybe they have to set the bar, where if a Jack Lukosius doesn’t meet it they go ‘hey, Jack? Unacceptable, mate. Work on it.’
“Take football away from them. They’re too well-rewarded to understand that it’s absolutely tooth-and-nail.”
Gold Coast have an opportunity to redeem themselves when they confront Carlton on the weekend, with a date yet to be set.