Noah Anderson looks dejected after Gold Coast’s defeat to Carlton at Marvel Stadium in Round 20 2026. Photo: AFL Photos
Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick says the Suns’ current nine-game slump could prove to be “the most important in our club’s history”.
Touted as premiership contenders after a strong start to the season, the Suns are now almost certain to miss the finals after a 13-point defeat to Carlton on Saturday.
The defeat left Gold Coast languishing in 14th place with two wins outside the wildcard places, but Hardwick remains focused on the lessons his side can take from a season that fell far short of expectations.
“BLUES” – “SANS” Full match broadcast and statistics
“These nine games will probably be the most important in our club’s history,” Hardwick said after the match.
“People will sit there and say, ‘What are you talking about?’ Well. I have faced situations like this before and you get the most growth even in the darkest times.
“We’re learning a lot as we go. At the end of the day, success is not linear, but it may be what really ignites us as something very special.”
The Suns made just 34 tackles, 18 fewer than the Blues, but Hardwick refused to question his team’s effort and character.
“One thing I will say: I have been playing football for a long time. The spirit and drive of this team is as strong as ever,” said the three-time Premier League coach.
“Noah (Anderson) and his team did an incredible job with it.
“In our situation, when we lose nine games in a row, the easiest way for any team to lose their package is they don’t do it.
“It’s a credit to Noah and ‘Rowley’ (Matt Rowell) and those players who sit there and try their best to lead us to victory.
“For some reason we’re not playing as well as we’d like, we’re not quite where we need to be… but we’re not as bad as the record suggests.
“So we need to keep showing up, keep working, keep believing in what we do, and more importantly, keep pushing that barrel up the hill.”
Carlton’s Round 20 victory took interim coach Josh Fraser’s record to 8-2 since he took the reins from Michael Voss at the start of the season.
With the finals approaching, Fraser admits he has some decisions to make as Carlton enters the final month of the home and away season.
“We’re clearly closer to the end of the season than we were nine or 10 weeks ago,” Fraser said after the match.
“At some point I’m going to have to think about where I am as a coach and I think every coach goes through that process.
“This time of year, you kind of start thinking about where your gaps are and what you need to continue to grow.
“And I’m no different. So when the time comes, I’ll think more deeply about what that looks like.”
With a place in the group stage a distinct possibility for the Blues, Fraser said his side were not getting ahead of themselves.
“I think there is an awareness of that in the background. For me, it’s less about that and more about what we build during the week and that’s where we are,” Frazier said.
“I think I would be doing the club a disservice in trying to move them forward if we start to look away from what gave us the chance to be in this position.
“So our training standards are improving. Our individual and collective desire to develop our game and become better is improving.”
“We are not a finished product. We have a lot of work ahead of us. But the next four weeks represent a chance to continue working on this.”
Fraser confirmed standout Nick Newman injured his hamstring in his 150th game.
“Naturally you will be disappointed. Stage play, early hamstring injury, unfortunately that’s part of football,” Fraser said.
“He’s a great character, he’s got great support. We’ll get more information on that early in the week and see what happens.”