IF GOLD Coast wants to play finals for the first time in its history, it will need to re-write a horrifying pattern of post-bye impotence.
No matter which way you cut the statistics, the sun has usually set on Gold Coast's season by the time the calendar hits July.
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With eight wins and four losses from 12 games in 2025, Damien Hardwick's men have never been better positioned to make a run at September.
Although many things indicate this version of the Suns is unlike any other – they're ranked fourth for points scored and third for points conceded – history is not friendly.
Not once since their inaugural season of 2011 have they won 50 per cent of matches following the bye.
With 11 matches remaining this year, six wins would guarantee a spot in the top eight, while five and a good percentage might just be enough, but not something you'd want to chance.
The first decade of the club's existence made for woeful reading. Three wins and a draw from 11 matches in 2015 is the high mark for success.
Cumulatively, Gold Coast won 18 matches, with a draw, from 101 attempts following the mid-season break in that span.
If we track progress from 2021 onwards – the second season together for the nucleus of this team following the Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson and Sam Flanders draft – things are on a slight improve.
Three-from-11 in 2021, 4/10 in 2022, 3/11 in 2023 and 4/10 again last year, Hardwick's first in charge.
As the young list has matured, the fadeouts have become slightly less dramatic.
Starting with Greater Western Sydney on Sunday, Gold Coast has five of its remaining matches against top eight teams.
Take care of business against the bottom 10 opponents, and they'll make it. Drop their standards and stumble, and an updated version of this story will likely roll out again in 12 months.
Gold Coast's record after the bye
2011 – 1-14
2012 – 3-7
2013 – 3-7
2014 – 1-5 (second bye)
2015 – 3-7-1
2016 – 3-7
2017 – 3-11
2018 – 1-12
2019 – 0-9
2020 – 0-3
2021 – 3-8
2022 – 4-6
2023 – 3-8
2024 – 4-6
