Welcome to all GameDay Squad coaches, AFL fantasy coaches, AFL fans or just the curious. GameDay Squad is going to be releasing a series of AFL seasonal reviews that will provide you with all the fantasy insight and recommendations your heart desires. We are just weeks away from the commencement of the 2023 AFL season and if you are late to the party and haven’t done your fantasy research, let GameDay Squad handle that for you. Enjoy this installation of fantasy breakdowns for the Gold Coast Suns.
Must start player:
At the risk of being vanilla, I think it'd be footy fantasy blogger suicide not to put Touk Miller in the absolute must-start category here. Touk not only wins the battle for this title at the Suns by the length of the Flemington straight but he's arguably the most "Must Start Player" in the league for me. Miller, who has been on a steady incline for performance since he entered the league enjoyed his best season yet in 2022, he finished the season as the 5th highest-averaging player in the game and 3rd for total score. He also finished 3rd in the Brownlow Medal voting, a career-best finish in polling for the beloved Sun. There's no reason to believe Miller is going to slow down, in fact, I'd be willing to bet we haven't even seen his ceiling yet. Get. Him. In. Your. Teams.
Dream legend card:
If you follow GameDay Squad on socials you will be well aware that the legend Touk Miller card has been packed so I'll have to look elsewhere here. With that in mind, my dream legend card would be the 1 of 1 Noah Anderson card, here me out. Noah had his best year by far last year, finishing 20th overall on average score per game and 21st overall for total score. What's more important in this instance is among 23-year-olds or under he finished 3rd! Only behind superstars Sam Walsh and Bailey Smith. Anderson's game is incredibly fantasy friendly, with a lot of run and carry, a lot of kicking as opposed to handballing and he can get forward and slot a couple through the big ones as well. Given his age, talent and fantasy ceiling, I'll be taking Noah Anderson as my dream Gold Coast Suns legend card.
Avoid this Bust:
I'm not overly excited by the prospects of David Swallow this season, unfortunately. I was personally hoping for defender status and some time spent down in the backline but I just don't think we see it. The health of the likes of Lachie Weller, Connor Buderick and Wil Powell as well as the acquisition of Ben Long from the St Kilda Saints does not bode well for the prospects of seeing Swallow down back, where it proved fairly fruitful for fantasy points. I'll be avoiding him, he'll have some big games, but those big games will be too few and far between to warrant selection.
Value on the rise:
Elijah Hollands. That's all you really need to know. No, but seriously - the guy is a gun! I know we only have an incredibly tiny sample size (due to an ACL injury ruining his debut season) but it doesn't take a genius to see how good Hollands is. His career-best game came in just his third AFL game where he posted a ludicrous score of 148 GDS fantasy points against the Hawthorn Hawks in round 21 last season. Hollands is crazy talented, it won't take long before the fantasy community take notice and the value for Hollands skyrockets!
Value on the decline:
I think it's really close to D-Day for Jack Lukosius. Which is hard to type out but Lukosious has had a few seasons now where he's teased and teased and teased his fantasy ability but he's never really taken that consistent step toward being a viable fantasy option. The way the Suns use him is great for Suns fans in real life! But I just think in terms of fantasy, coaches are losing their patience. I don't want to erase him off the board entirely! But I think he's just a player that is if he doesn't hit the ground running hot, he'll lose some value early. Which in turn means it will be a great time to get him for those who still believe!
2023 Hot take:
Remember how I said earlier that we haven't seen the best from Touk Miller yet? That still remains true but my hot take for the Suns in 2023 is that Noah Anderson polls more Brownlow Medal votes in 2023 and finished top 10 in voting league wide! Sorry if that's too hot!