DAMIEN Hardwick referred to Will Graham and Bailey Humphrey as the 'Bash Brothers' following the round four win over Adelaide, but perhaps it's Daniel Rioli and John Noble he should be assigning a nickname - the 'Dash Brothers'.
Late last year, Rioli and Noble were targeted by Hardwick and the Suns to add attacking drive to a backline group that was defensively sound, but lacking line-breaking speed.
And just three games into their time at Carrara, the duo showed against the Crows – the Suns' toughest test in a relatively soft run of games to start the season - exactly the impact the club hoped they would have.
With Adelaide's midfield getting on top around the stoppages, first it was Noble, who had 12 of his 20 disposals in the scene-setting first quarter, before Rioli helped close out the one-point win with 10 critical fourth-quarter touches.
Rioli was given six votes by the coaches in the win over the Crows, while Noble took the leading role in the come-from-behind win over North Melbourne in Gather Round, leading all Suns players with 28 disposals and 712 metres gained.
"(Rioli) and 'Nobes' bring something quite unique," Hardwick said following the win over Adelaide.
"They're both very capable of breaking lines, but also the ability to hit targets at speed.
"Overall, we've been very happy with what those boys have brought."
In his first season at the club, Hardwick wrestled with the half-back line more than any part of the ground, trying Alex Sexton, Sam Flanders, Rory Atkins and Connor Budarick to partner the reliable Wil Powell and breakout gun Bodhi Uwland.
Unable to unlock attacking punch from that end of the ground, the Suns chased triple premiership Tiger Rioli – who Hardwick coached for most of his career – and the rock-solid Noble from Collingwood.
Although just four games in, what the eye sees in Gold Coast's ball movement is backed up by statistics from Champion Data.
Not only are Rioli and Noble both individually rated 'above average' for disposals and metres gained, but more importantly for score involvements, with more than four a game each.
Helping the cause has been the emergence of Joel Jeffrey, whose average disposal count (17.8) is lower than those of Noble and Rioli, but he's still having a high impact, with 4.8 score involvements per game.
Gold Coast's ball movement has been transformed.
They have dramatically improved in transitioning the ball from their defensive 50 into scores, now well above League average, along with punishing turnovers at a much higher rate than 2024.
There's a long way to go before Gold Coast is remotely close to a finished product, but the early impetus given by Rioli and Noble has made their off-season trades a slam dunk.
