SUNDAY'S horror loss to Carlton continued a trend over recent years for Gold Coast where it takes two steps forward, then one giant step back.
Wins over top-eight teams the Western Bulldogs and Adelaide moved the Suns to a 6-6 win-loss record and dreams of a maiden finals appearance.
The Blues not only halted that – at least for the time being – but dredged up demons of every season under Stuart Dew where Gold Coast has not just stumbled, but fallen flat on its face in the second half of the season.
Last year the Suns were 7-6 after a post-bye triumph over the Crows, but with a top-eight spot up for grabs, fluffed games against lowly Essendon and Hawthorn and were out of the finals race with two rounds to go.
In 2021 they followed up stirring victories over Richmond and Greater Western Sydney with a 1-4 finish to the season that included hidings from Brisbane, Melbourne, Essendon and Sydney.
It was another limp to the finish line, rather than a sprint.
It's unfair to lump all the post-bye statistics under Dew together, as this team is vastly different from those that ran out in 2018 and 2019 when the club cut its list deeply and ran out a host of tired teenagers late in seasons.
It's an issue that has haunted the club over its short history.
The most famous example came in 2014, when the wheels completely fell off following a season-ending shoulder injury to reigning Brownlow medallist Gary Ablett, suffered in a famous win over Collingwood.
Gold Coast, which was in seventh place after 16 rounds, lost six of its final seven games, including the last four, to drop right out of the finals picture and ultimately result in Guy McKenna's dismissal as coach.
The point remains though: for the Suns to make an impact in 2023, they simply have to find a way to not only be competitive in the final 10 games, but buck history and finish the season full of running.
"It's a different mix we've got out there," says vice-captain Sam Collins.
"I think we've all grown a lot over the last few years with 'Dewy'. We're developing, we're still implementing things and making mistakes, but as a collective I think we're definitely trending the right way."
The run home starts with hosting the Hawks at Heritage Bank Stadium on Sunday: a must-win in anyone's language.
Although it's not smart to get caught in the week-to-week narrative shift our competition often provides, a loss here has the potential to spin September aspirations out the door with matches to follow against Collingwood, Port Adelaide and St Kilda.
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Dashing defender Lachie Weller could be available this week after missing two months with swelling around his knee, and expect Touk Miller to beat the three-week timeline given for his return from a meniscus injury.
Health-wise, the Suns are in a great spot.
"I think we've put in a solid body of work and a pretty consistent brand of footy down," co-captain Jarrod Witts said.
"I can't tell what's going to happen in the future, but that gives us confidence moving forward for the back half of the year.
"Yeah, the narrative hasn't been great for the back half of years in the past, but I think off the body of work we've done in the last five weeks, that will give us the momentum to move forward."
When you're 12th on the ladder, most draws look difficult, but the opportunity is there for the Suns to create history.
"I think the group's grown," defensive forward Nick Holman said.
"We've worked hard over a number of seasons to get where we are now. We took a backward step on the weekend, but … we look forward to playing the Hawks."
Gold Coast's recent post-bye record
2018: 1-12
2019: 0-9
2020: 0-3
2021: 3-8
2022: 4-6
2023: 0-1
