0 
0 It’s still the pre season, but the Gold Coast Suns looked none the wiser under new coach Damien Hardwick, going down to GWS by 44 points on Thursday night.
At one stage of the match, the young Suns allowed last year’s preliminary finalists to boot 11 unanswered goals, as Hardwick’s box looked puzzled.
Despite the disappointing loss on the eve of season proper, Suns captain Touk Miller says there’s nothing to worry about, as the side irons out a few kinks in their new Hardwick game plan.
READ MORE: Where Ricciardo sits in multi-million dollar F1 silly season
READ MORE: Marnus ‘skating on thin ice’ as dire form laid bare
READ MORE: Bulldogs add premiership-winning enforcer on NRL deal
Hardwick was appointed to the job late in 2023 after citing a burnout at Richmond, where he led the club to three premierships over a four year period.
The star headed north with promises of a September berth and flags for the young Suns, who have never made the finals since joining the AFL back in 2011.
However, it may have been a stressful sight for Suns fans on Thursday night, as they managed to boot 9.7 (56) to the Giants 15.15 (105).
Miller insists that there is plenty of time for the Suns’ new game plan to fully come together, as round one looms large.
“We didn’t want to come in here with heaps of expectation,” Miller said on Fox Footy post match.
“We’ve obviously had a really big three months of learning a new game plan. It’s not going to be like that the whole entire year, we’re going to keep adding to it and refining it.
“I feel like we had the chance to do that tonight. We did some really good things, we did some poor things.”
Miller, who collected a game-high 33 disposals on Thursday night says his team is continually learning from Hardwick, who has brought a sense of professionalism that their team has lacked in previous season.
Impressively, Jack Lukosius booted four goals for the Suns, with Alex Sexton also picking up 31 touches.
“Footy is imperfect. You’ve got to take it as it comes. Tonight was a good example, we did some things that were really positive and some things we can butter up,” Miller said.
“Dimma (Hardwick) is really strong on keep tweaking stuff, keep learning a lot from the mistakes.
“I feel like he’s brought a lot of excitement, not only to the playing group and coaches, but always the wider footy community.”
For the Giants, it was club and All-Australian captain Toby Greene who kicked four goals.
The Suns are looking to start their 2024 season on the right foot, but will have to get through Hardwick’s old side Richmond in the AFL’s new Opening Round, playing at Heritage Bank Stadium a week before round one.
