GOLD Coast vice captain Touk Miller has paid tribute to the leadership of star midfielder Noah Anderson after an outstanding performance against West Coast in his debut as skipper.
Anderson led a brutal midfield mauling of the Eagles on Sunday with a game-high 36 disposals and nine clearances at Optus Stadium, combining with Matt Rowell and Miller to drive an imposing season-opening win for the Suns.
Miller, who handed over his role as co-captain in February, said it was an important win for the 24-year-old as he starts his time as skipper and pushes to lead the Suns into their first finals campaign.
"In your first game as captain, I think there is always going to be a bit of anxiety around that and it was always going to be a hostile environment playing over here," Miller told AFL.com.au.
"I think you'd be kidding yourself if you thought you weren't going to be nervous, and it's just one of those types of games in round one where anyone can beat you.
"This round proved that a little bit with some of the results, so I'm sure he had those thoughts in the back of his mind. But we knew if we played our system we would win, and we did that really well."
Anderson is the AFL's youngest skipper, taking over from Miller and ruckman Jarrod Witts, who was also outstanding against the Eagles with a massive 68 hitouts and five clearances.
Miller said the young leader had been groomed for the role and would have plenty of support from the Suns' other leaders.
"He's going to forge his own path as skipper, and he's got many years of doing that, so I couldn't be more proud of what he's going to do for this club," Miller said.
"He's a really good conductor on field and if you were in an empty stadium you'd hear him the entire game. Then he leads for by example.
"He's got my full support, anything he needs and whatever gets us over the line to win a premiership."
Coach Damien Hardwick said Anderson's performance had set a standard for how he would lead the Suns, both on-field and in the way he had kept the group focused in the lead-up to Sunday's win.
"He was hard, he was tough. He was in there helping his teammates up and scrapping, and that's the reason our players picked him as their captain," the coach said.
"The way he goes about it is really, really important. I think he's set a really strong standard about what his captaincy looks like moving forward."
Miller's own performance was important for the Suns after a pre-season interrupted by a knee injury, with the postponement of the Suns' opening round match working in his favour.
The dual All-Australian said his move to the vice-captaincy after three years as co-captain would not change the way he leads at the Suns.
"Whether you have a title or not, your position and how the boys perceive you and how you play is imperative for us winning," Miller said.
"I feel like my role still is the same, I'm still going to lead how I do on the ground, and give my full support to Noah. I think he's doing a fantastic job and he's one from one."
