One step it can take to find some form? Playing Josh Corbett.

The former North Warrnambool Eagle was electric in the first quarter of Saturday's loss to North Melbourne, booting two majors and giving the Suns a chance against a tough breeze.

Corbett has so far featured eight times and booted 15 goals - not a bad return for a third tall who is asked to play behind Ben King.

But the 25-year-old can offer so much more than scoreboard pressure. Corbett averages 2.25 marks inside 50 a game and clunked seven overall against North. That's the 15^th best in the AFL.

But perhaps the most valuable trait Corbett offers his team is work rate.

He runs and tackles and pressures and does it all without complaint.

When the chips are down, like they are for Gold Coast at present, defence is where the turnaround starts.

While Corbett's performances on-field have largely been on par, Suns coach Stuart Dew said time in the treatment room was taking its toll.

Corbett's body has indeed been his biggest stumbling block - though Dew was hopeful Gold Coast could "find the right balance" to get the 190-centimetre forward on the park each week.

"(Corbett) has played some good footy for us," he said.

"We're really working hard with his body to be able to consistently train and then play. We're making sure he can back up from games.

"The times that he's come out (of the senior side) are times when it's been two to three weeks where he hasn't been able to train and performance drops off so we want to try to get that right."

Dew said Corbett was stringing together consistency at training when his body permitted.

"It's a credit to him that he came in again and he had a good week on the track," Dew said.

"It'll be a real bonus for him to try to get him moving again, because when he can train, he plays pretty well for us."

Corbett could yet be one of the Suns' most important players. Like so many before him, he just needs a sprinkle of luck and faith from his coaching staff.

The tide has to turn sooner or later on the Gold Coast. Injuries have hit the Suns hard, with key defender Sam Collins, Connor Budarick, David Swallow, Lachie Weller and Jarrod Witts all sidelined.

But with a talent-laden list packed with first-round picks - 15 to be exact - wins have to start piling up soon or Dew will be subject to serious pressure and the board eyes the club's first finals series in its decade-long AFL history.

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