THE 2022 AFL Women’s season is almost upon us, so it’s time to take a look at each of the competing teams and see where they sit as we head into another season. Today we will take a look at Gold Coast, who went winless in 2021 and ultimately finished last.

After playing finals in their debut year, 2021 can only be described as a disaster for the Suns. After a promising showing against Melbourne in round one, things went downhill from there and they failed to win a match for the entire season.

But that is the past, and this is the future. With a new coach in Cameron Joyce, a new skipper in Hannah Dunn, the only way is up for the Suns. They have recruited well in the off season.

In the draft, they picked up number one draft pick and highly touted Victorian Charlie Rowbottom, who has already shown she can play off half back as well as in the midfield, and as that leading key forward. Alongside her in the draft they picked up Ashanti Bush, Giselle Davies and Teagan Levi.

Outside the draft, they traded in Vivien Saad from North and Claudia Whitfort from St Kilda. They were also able to pick up Alana Barba and Tara Bohanna from the VFLW as replacement players. Both of them are seasoned, experienced campaigners and will be a great addition to the side.

They also added Shannon Danckert and Jacqueline Dupuy from the QAFLW as replacement players after Teagan and Maddison Levi and had to be placed on the inactive list due to rugby commitments.

They did lose a lot of experience after the end of the 2021 season though. Among the departures from the club include Sally Riley, Sam Virgo and Leah Kaslar.

In terms of the fixture, Gold Coast have quite the mixed bag to start off the season.

They have GWS, West Coast, Brisbane, Richmond then Melbourne in the opening half of the season. The Richmond and West Coast games may be winnable, but after the practise matches the West Coast game is not as winnable as it once was.

They then have Geelong, Western Bulldogs, St Kilda, Carlton and Collingwood in the back half of the season, so things do not get a whole lot easier in the back half of the season.

They have got a tough draw, so it will be a tough climb up the ladder in 2022. If nothing else, they can take 2022 as a year of learning for their new and younger players, and a chance to set the foundation for a future tilt at success under coach Cameron Joyce.

2022 SQUAD:

• Lauren Ahrens
• Janet Baird
• Alana Barba
• Lauren Bella
• Tara Bohanna
• Ashanti Bush
• Daisy D’Arcy
• Giselle Davies
• Shannon Danckert
• Ali Drennan
• Hannah Dunn
• Jacqueline Dupuy
• Tori Groves-Little
• Cheyenne Hammond
• Ellie Hampson
• Dee Heslop
• Kalinda Howarth
• Bess Keaney
• Sarah Perkins
• Brittany Perry
• Jade Pregelj
• Wallis Randell
• Charlie Rowbottom
• Vivien Saad
• Lucy Single
• Jamie Stanton
• Kate Surman
• Serene Watson
• Claudia Whitfort
• Jacqui Yorston