GOLD Coast will be without captain Noah Anderson to face Essendon on Saturday, but will have Matt Rowell and Christian Petracca playing in the same midfield for the first time.

Anderson will miss after undergoing an operation to have his appendix removed on Monday, just two days after taking part in the Suns' loss to Sydney in Gather Round.

Despite the loss of its captain, there is good news for Gold Coast, with Petracca set to return from a hamstring injury alongside Bailey Humphrey, who has served his suspension for a tackle on Maurice Rioli jnr.

Both men have missed successive losses against Melbourne and the Swans.

Speaking on Tuesday ahead of his team's first game at People First Stadium in five weeks, vice-captain Sam Collins said having Rowell and Petracca in the same team was exciting.

"Two absolute bulls, and the way they can Yin and yang in there and pop out to space is going to be really exciting to watch from my perspective," he said.

"We want our best players on the park … we miss Noah, but we've got Bailey and Christian this week and to see them mix it with Rowelly is going to be exciting."

Collins said it certainly wasn't "doom and gloom" for a team that has dropped matches after winning their first three.

Although the midfield had been in the crosshairs of coach Damien Hardwick, Collins said the backline also had to take plenty of responsibility.

"As a backline group, we'd like to have been better. In years gone by, we've probably stood up a bit better than we have in the last couple of weeks when the pressure came off the ball," he said.

"We'd love to have won those two games. We don't think we were competitive enough.

"I think we'll be righting that wrong this week."

Collins and former captain Touk Miller will lead the Suns on Saturday.