Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has defended the struggling AFL expansion club's culture, saying he doesn't expect the departure of Tom Lynch to spark a mass exodus.
A horror week on and off the field for the Suns culminated on Sunday with a 96-point drubbing from Melbourne at the MCG.
The dismal Suns conceded nine goals to one in the opening term on the way to the 21.17 (143) to 7.5 (47) defeat.
It came just days after gun free agent Lynch informed the club he would return to Victoria, a move which prompted the Suns to strip him of his captaincy.
Speculation has swirled that David Swallow, Jack Martin and Aaron Hall could all seek trades at the end of the season, while captain Steven May has refused to guarantee his future beyond next year when he becomes a restricted free agent.
"We're always confident," Dew said when asked about the likelihood of their retention.
"They'll be conversations at another time.
"We've got 45 players so there's always going to be someone that wants to go and then we're going to have some people that want to come.
"What I think we have worked out is we have a fair chunk of the weight of numbers that want to stay and really build this club in the right way."
Gold Coast have battled to retain players throughout their existence with stars Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia and Jaeger O'Meara all departing in recent years.
There have also been suggestions potential AFL recruits have sought to avoid being drafted by the Suns, prompting chief executive Mark Evans to threaten legal action against any player mangers who advised against joining the club.
Dew insisted his players remained tight-knit but admitted they needed a strong pre-season to make both physical and mental improvements.
"Particularly when you've got such a young, inexperienced team, I think they're able to keep up for a fair bit and then mentally, the opposition get on top," Dew said.
"I'm not sure it's a true reflection of how close the group is today."
Australian Associated Press
