GOLD Coast is considering resting players for Thursday night's Sir Doug Nicholls Round opener against Hawthorn as it navigates two games in the Darwin heat within five days.

Last year the Suns rested ruckman Jarrod Witts from their second game in the Top End, and again Ned Moyle has travelled with the team as it contemplates a similar move.

Young tall Ethan Read was 'managed' from Saturday's 10-point win over the Western Bulldogs and is in Darwin and ready to go, as is veteran David Swallow.

There will be at least two changes from the team that held off Luke Beveridge's men, with Will Graham (shoulder) and substitute Jake Rogers already back on the Gold Coast.

Graham was heroic in the final stages of the victory and is being assessed on Monday.

Untried Ben Jepson has flown in to join the squad that also has Sean Lemmens and Lloyd Johnston available should they be called on.

Vice-captain Touk Miller spoke following a light training run at TIO Stadium late on Monday morning, saying the tight win over the Dogs was another sign of Gold Coast's improving maturity.

"Last year we were probably still adapting to the gameplan and understanding what's required, and this year we've got a better handle on what that looks like," Miller said.

"We trained a lot of scenario stuff over the pre-season, we trained that exact scenario quite a few times.

"We had a bit of a taste-tester against Adelaide (in round four, which Gold Coast won by a point). We didn't nail a lot of our positioning, but this time around we nailed it.

"We're happy our scenario-based training has come out on game day."

With game-time temperatures in the high 20s and sapping humidity to match, Miller said he had no problems with the short turnaround and was excited about playing the Hawks in primetime.

"They're obviously in good form, playing good footy, and so are we. 

"Now I feel like we can start to have belief we're a really good side and we can compete, and I think Thursday night is going to be a great test for us."