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Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has hailed the grit of his Suns after they produced one of the biggest upsets in recent AFL history to stun Richmond.
Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has set his Suns the challenge of building on one of the club's most famous victories to ensure they finish the AFL season strongly.
After losing to wooden spoon favourites North Melbourne last week, the Suns were given no hope of knocking off reigning premiers Richmond, who were smarting from a two-goal effort in a shock loss to St Kilda.
But Gold Coast controlled Thursday night's contest at Marvel Stadium to stun the Tigers by 10 points and win their fifth game of the season.
The club's entire existence has come into question as the Suns continue to search for their maiden finals appearance since entering the AFL in 2011.
Since Dew started as coach in 2018, the Suns have often started seasons brightly before fading out towards the end of the year.
Before their giant upset of the Tigers, Gold Coast's record from their post-bye period to the conclusion of the season stood at 1-27 under Dew.
"Let's be honest, we lost a little bit of confidence but I think our training form hasn't wavered and that's a lesson for our players," Dew said.
"We showed some real grit and fight tonight so that's really pleasing.
"We've just got to bottle what we did tonight and the consistency around it.
"We've got some serious competition coming up and we welcome it because our guys really thrive on that."
Even without experienced midfielder Hugh Greenwood, who stayed back in Queensland for the birth of his second child, the Suns dominated the premiership-winning Tigers' on-ball brigade.
There was no one better on the ground than Touk Miller, who finished with 36 possessions and nine clearances.
"I don't know what to say about Touk, we're lucky to have him at our footy club," Dew said.
"He's putting in a season to remember."
Greenwood's inclusion for next week's game against GWS will depend entirely on Queensland's COVID-19 situation.
"We'll be at the mercy of the (border) rules and see how we go," Dew said.
