IT'S the subtle shift that has helped Touk Miller become one of the competition's most damaging midfielders.
Known as a prolific, ball-gathering, hard-running two-way onballer across his 201-game career, Miller has found another gear in 2025 in the front half of the ground.
Gold Coast's heart and soul vice-captain has become a key cog in its potent high-octane scoring.
Through 10 games, Miller has kicked 12 goals, already outdoing his previous season high of eight set in his All-Australian years of 2021 and 2022.
The only midfielders to kick more are Zac Bailey and Ollie Dempsey (who predominantly play wing), along with Kysaiah Pickett who all have 18, Matthew Kennedy (14), Izak Rankine (14), Shai Bolton (13) and Isaac Heeney (13).
Coach Damien Hardwick has always been a fan of Miller's game and this year he's tweaked how he uses him.
"When I coached Richmond we used him as a hybrid midfielder, which is one of the more dominant positions on the ground and we used him as a prototype of what that player looks like for our recruiting staff," Hardwick said at a recent press conference.
"I get the pleasure now of coaching him."
And after having a look at his list for 12 months, Hardwick seems to have found the perfect split of time midfield and forward for the 29-year-old.
In 2024, statistics supplied by Champion Data show Miller played 85 per cent time in the midfield and 15 per cent forward.
With Bailey Humphrey, and Will Graham before his shoulder injury, commanding more time in the centre of the ground, Hardwick has dialled that back to 76 per cent midfield and 24 per cent forward.
The tweak has worked a treat.
Miller is accumulating exactly the same number of disposals as last season – 26.3 per game – but it's where he's getting them and the impact they're having that is now so damaging.
In 2024, almost 14 of those disposals came in the forward half of the ground, which ranked him ninth in the League. This year that number has jumped to 16.2, which ranks him third behind only Christian Petracca and Ed Richards.
Miller's 6.2 score involvements a game has jumped to 7.9, moving him from 31st in the competition all the way up to fourth. Only Western Bulldogs trio Marcus Bontempelli, Richards and Sam Darcy average more.
While his captain Noah Anderson and midfield mate Matt Rowell grab the headlines for their stunning form, don't sleep on Miller's jump in 2025 to again be among the game's most influential players.
