‘Loss to GWS a gift’: Suns still confident on finals

Justin Chadwick | August 18, 2025

Star Gold Coast midfielder Touk Miller has described last week’s flop against GWS as nothing more than a bump in the road, declaring the team is still on track for finals.

The Suns had the chance to lock in their maiden AFL finals berth last week, but instead copped an upset 35-point loss at home against a GWS outfit missing spearheads Jesse Hogan and Jake Stringer.

The defeat means Gold Coast (14-7) are unlikely to snare a prized top-four berth, but a win over Port Adelaide in Adelaide on Friday night combined with a win over Essendon next week will lock in a home final.

Even just one win from those two games will secure a finals berth.

Miller believes the lessons learned from the loss to GWS will serve Gold Coast well in the coming weeks.

“I’d love to be standing here right now saying we’re going into our first finals (series), but that’s not the case. We’ve just got to wait another week,” Miller said on Monday.

“It’s disappointing, but Dimma (coach Damien Hardwick) does talk about it a bit – those losses are gifts and we can learn from those.

“It’s better for us to have played like that now and not in two or three weeks’ time.

“It’s a bump in the road, but we know what our best footy is capable of.”

Some pundits have questioned whether the Suns simply choked with their first finals campaign within reach.

Miller doesn’t think that’s the case.

“We’ve done a really good job this year of being where our feet are,” Miller said.

“The finals (question) is always going to be hanging there until we’re literally playing in a final.

“I think it’s OK for us to kind of go there and be OK that we’re going to make a finals series.

“But we just have to focus on the game that’s coming up next, and for us it’s Port Adelaide.”

The 14th-placed Power (8-14) have a long list of injuries and on paper should be easy pickings.

But with the match marking the last games of long-serving coach Ken Hinkley and club legend Travis Boak, the Power will have plenty of motivation to play out of their skins.

Miller is embracing the challenge.

“Who doesn’t love Friday night football? For us it’s a fantastic opportunity,” Miller said.

“It’s going to be Ken Hinkley’s last game, it’s going to be Travis Boak’s last game.

“There’s probably going to be 50,000 people there – it’s going to be hostile.

“It’s going to be as good a footy as it gets. For us, we know what the implications are – we win and we get in.”