Opinion: Is the sun setting on Gold Coast's dark days?

Keeping it has proven a tougher task.

Jaeger O'Meara, Dion Prestia, Tom Lynch, Steven May, Brandon Matera, Jack Martin, Charlie Dixon, Harley Bennell, Josh Caddy and Gary Ablett are among those who left the sand for greener pastures.

You can throw Adam Saad, Callum Ah Chee, Jack Scrimshaw, Kade Kolodjashnij and Jarryd Lyons in there too.

It makes for bleak reading if you're a Gold Coast fan. And yes, they exist.

There's always talk of the next batch leaving too. For no other reason than they're from interstate, so why wouldn't they want to leave?

Thankfully for Gold Coast the newest batch not only looks laden with talent but committed to the cause.

They're living the Suns' mantra - Challenge Accepted.

Top-10 draft picks Ben King, Jack Lukosius, Izak Rankine and Ben Ainsworth, who all hail from interstate, signed contract extensions.

The word is reigning number one pick and round two rising star nominee Matt Rowell will follow suit when coronavirus signing restrictions are lifted.

"We can actually bring success to this club which hasn't been done before so it's a real motivating factor," he said.

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So is the sun setting on Gold Coast's dark days?

The club, trying to make its way in a market known as a burial ground for professional sporting teams, made a statement when it disposed of premiership fancy West Coast on Saturday night.

A decision to focus on mature-age talent when it entered the AFL in 2011 hurt Gold Coast.

It watched as fellow expansion club GWS Giants surpassed it, reaping the rewards of investing in youth.

The Giants are a year younger but with a grand final appearance under their belt.

Meanwhile, further north, Gold Coast was struggling for identity and relevance.

It seemed despite the sun and sand, no one wanted to be there.

Finally, perhaps through culture and leadership, the tide is changing.

Two-time Richmond premiership player Brandon Ellis headlined the Suns' off-season recruiting drive which also netted Adelaide's Hugh Greenwood.

Co-captains David Swallow and Jarrod Witts have committed long-term and creative forward Alex Sexton, Lachie Weller, whom they paid a high price for from Fremantle, and a re-energised Sam Day are all playing their part in the revival.

But it's the draft where Gold Coast has struck gold.

It used picks one and two last year on best friends Rowell and Noah Anderson.

They combined for 45 disposals and three goals in the Suns' 44-point rout of West Coast, helping them to their first win since round three last year.

Wil Powell, a bold choice at pick 19 in the 2017 draft, has x-factor as does Ainsworth (pick four in 2016).

Then there's King, a former number six pick the club can build a forward line around, the versatile Lukosius (pick two in 2018) and the uncapped Rankine (pick three 2018) who has battled hamstring injuries since arriving at the club.

On-field there's promise.

Off-field they're committed.

There will be ebbs and flows but relevance beckons the Suns for the first time in their brief history.

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