Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has opened up on the tide of pressure he feels in his job, admitting it never goes away as the Suns sit anchored in 16th on the ladder.
Gold Coast join West Coast and Hawthorn as the only clubs with one win in their opening five matches – but the Suns’ victory did come against reigning premiers Geelong.
Speaking on AFL 360 Dew, who signed a new two-year deal last July to tie him at the club until at least the end of 2024, said speculation and pressure was just part of a head coaching role.
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“I never really feel the tide (of pressure) go away to be honest,” he said.
“One or two weeks can take that feeling away, but that feeling only goes away for two days.
“Once that next game starts to come around, there’s pressure there to perform.
“I’m the face of it so I understand that.
“I don’t feel under any less or more pressure depending on what’s happened. That’s the reality of elite sport.
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“Sometimes you’ve got to absorb that pressure for other people and that’s the way it goes. That’s our job. We don’t make excuses for it – we get back to work.”
Dew said he was confident the Suns could turn their season around quickly.
“I think we were 2-5 last year and turned it 6-6. We’ve just got to keep improving,” he said.
Dew is the Gold Coast’s longest serving coach in franchise history, surpassing predecessors Guy McKenna (88 games between 2011 and 2014) and Rodney Eade (63 games between 2015 and 2017).
But he’s never led the side to a finish higher than 12th in his five seasons at the helm as the finals drought rolls on.
That 12th place finish came just last season as the Suns recorded double digit (10) wins for the first time in club history.
“When the dust settles, you’ve got to get back to work and look at ways to get better,” Dew said.
“We need to take it a week at a time.
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“The game was there to be won against Geelong, who were the reigning premiers, and we were able to get it done so I think it’s bridging the gap between our best and our worst and try and flatten out that consistency.
“Between fifth on the ladder and 18th there’s two wins.”
Dew also shrugged off concerns over the leadership change at the club, after club chairman Tony Cochrane stepped down earlier this year, to be replaced by Bob East.
“I think Bob’s been on our board the whole time I’ve been here as well,” he said.
“Bob’s first port of call is how do we support you, how do we give you what you need and what do you need from us. If that’s his starting point, I think we can have a great relationship.
“We’ve just got to lean into that together.”
