It’s hard to believe that we are already on the home stretch for 2015, with just eight games remaining in the home and away season. Finals won’t be a reality this season due to an array of factors, but there is still plenty to be gained from the final two months of the season for the Gold Coast SUNS.
 
With only two wins thus far, this season has appeared far from pretty in terms of premiership points. Although given Gold Coast’s difficult run home, and the dramatic absence of midfield class, it would be inaccurate to measure the SUNS performance purely in terms of win/loss.
 
In the final eight games, Rodney Eade’s side faces four sides currently inside the top eight, including two in the top four – West Coast (2nd) and Sydney (3rd) – as well as Adelaide who are hovering in ninth. The Crows game will carry even greater weight given the recent tragedy, and given the fact it will be their first home game since the passing of Phil Walsh. So expect Adelaide Oval to be full to the brim.
 
Richmond at the home of football in round 20, only the SUNS' second and final game at the MCG for 2015, looms as one of the more difficult games in the run home given the Tigers desperate pursuit of a top four finish – their first since Danny Frawley sent the Richmond faithful into hysteria way back in 2001.
 
Many football experts and analysts predicted Port Adelaide to contest fiercely for the premiership this season after two strong seasons under Ken Hinkley where they made a semi-final in 2013 and last year’s preliminary final.
 
After round 15, the Power sit in 12th spot on the ladder, a world away from a coveted top four position and its precious double chance. But like Richmond last year, write them off at your own peril. Last Thursday night’s gutsy victory over Collingwood on their home deck breathed life into a season that promised so much only a few months ago.
 
QClash 10 at the Gabba in round 19 presents the SUNS with their best opportunity of the run home to salvage some pride. As the ladder currently stands, the encounter could determine who takes home the least desired prize in football – the wooden spoon. Although, with Carlton just one game ahead of both sides, they are still in the bottom bracket.

 
So with wins looking difficult to come by in the final two months, what can be salvaged from a season that was supposed to be Gold Coast’s most prosperous yet?
 
Well, after injury ravaged the entire ground, it has receded in the last month with its major damage now purely focusing on the midfield. Finally the back six has a full complement to choose from, with key defender Rory Thompson returning from a hip injury against the Western Bulldogs and Adam Saad set to return against the Giants this weekend.
 
With Steven May rediscovering the form that saw him emerge as one of the best young key defenders in the game last year, along with Nick Malceski finding some rhythm after a frustrating maiden season, the evolving red and yellow defensive tapestry have an opportunity in the back half of the campaign to build some synergy heading into next season.
 
Kade Kolodjashnij has flourished this season with the added exposure and expectation placed on him in the absence of more experienced and seasoned players. The teenager has emerged as one of the premier second-year players in the game, dispelling the mythical second-year blues on the back of reliable performances that belies his inexperience.
 
Thompson (seven games) and Sam Day (five games) have both missed large chunks of football this season, so with eight weeks remaining the chance to build some continuity and confidence in their bodies and their game will be a focus. Day’s ability to play at either end of the ground is both his greatest strength and maybe his greatest weakness. It will be interesting to see where he plays and where he flourishes in the next two months.
 
A silver lining from the injury curse has been the capacity to get invaluable game-time into a handful of inexperienced players. First-year duo Saad and Touk Miller have been the surprise packets of the season, with the latter playing every game and Saad missing only two through injury.

 
The pair have been a breath of fresh air amongst a side brimming with first-round draft picks. Saad’s story has been widely documented. He was overlooked in three national drafts before being thrown a lifeline by the SUNS and since then he has made every post a winner to establish himself as one of the more captivating players in the game. That is not an overstatement – he is a walking highlights reel.
 
After being taken with pick No. 29 in last year’s national draft, Miller has been somewhat of a bargain at this stage of proceedings. The tenacious midfielder has become the poster boy for applied pressure at Metricon Stadium with his infectious effort having a profound effect, particularly for such a young player.
 
The pair has come on in leaps and bounds through their added exposure and will undoubtedly benefit from more of it in the final eight weeks of the season. Jarrod Garlett played the opening five games before suffering an ankle injury that required a reconstruction. He produced moments of mastery during his short stint at the elite level and is expected to return for the final month of the season, which will ensure he is ready to go again for day one of pre-season No. 2.
 
Prized draftee Peter Wright looms as an intriguing case in the next two months. The prodigious talent played two games in round ten and eleven and since returning to the NEAFL has taken his game to another level. Key position types take time. That’s a fact. But, the manner in which he has developed in the last couple of months has many insiders salivating at the thought of Wright in years to come. With Charlie Dixon being substituted out of two of the last three games with an ankle injury, Wright may earn more opportunities in the back half of the season. But, just like St Kilda’s handling of their prized acquisition, Patrick McCartin, the gloves will be on when it comes to looking after their colt in the best manner.
 
With the season quickly dwindling away, the exposure of the highly rated Jack Martin in the coming months will be interesting. The West Australian has endured an injury riddled start to his career at the SUNS with a shoulder reconstruction stalling his year last year, before ankle and hamstring problems have caused his season to stutter this year.
 
Not many players have the ability to turn games on their head like Martin, but given his fragility to date, the football department will be hoping to build some continuity when Martin returns in the coming weeks. It will be just another element of how Gold Coast can use the final eight games to get something out of the year.