The Gold Coast Suns are ready to be a top eight team, says coach Stuart Dew.
They finished 12th on the ladder last year with a percentage of 102, ultimately two wins out of September action.
The Suns are yet to play finals in their short history, but Dew believes they have a stable list and setup and are ready to rise up the ladder.
“I think we’re ready. We’re certainly ready for that – and I think we were ready last year to be honest,” Dew told SEN Breakfast about the prospect of playing finals.
“We lost three games by under 10 points that were in our control that cost us a berth in the finals. We’re confident and we’ll go into every game thinking we can beat any opposition and it’s not false – early in your time you’re trying to convince and you’re living on a bit of hope.
“We felt genuinely that we belonged at the pointy-end of the season. We fell short last year and we get another opportunity, but I think the group is really stable. The club is stable and you can’t underestimate what that gives to the players, that there’s a belief within the organisation from staff to players and players to staff and my relationship with the leadership group is really strong and we have such great honestly about where the group is at.
“I just feel that they’re ready to play in the big league and they’re ready to test themselves and we’ve got Sydney to start things so there’s no easing into the season.”
Dew confirmed former top draft pick Jack Lukosius will play forward in 2023 and is in significantly better condition than last season.
“We’re going to give him a run in the forward line and up on the wing,” he said.
“Last year he had a terrible pre-season, he had injuries, he sort of limped into the season a bit and then picked up that PCL injury early on. We tried to work through that and then he had the Sydney game where he landed on that knee the wrong angle.”
“We’re looking forward to him. He’s had a fantastic pre-season. He’s super smart. He’s done a power of work on his kicking which I think was needed. We’re looking forward to seeing what he can do. He’s such a mobile player.”
