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Gold Coast defender Wil Powell says the AFL club's players were shocked to hear Hugh Greenwood was leaving the Suns, but they bear no ill-will over the move.

Hugh Greenwood's bombshell departure from Gold Coast left Suns' players shocked but defender Wil Powell insists there's no ill-will towards their former teammate.

In one of the more bizarre and dramatic moves in recent AFL history, North Melbourne capitalised on Gold Coast's tricky list predicament to snare Greenwood just days after the Suns delisted the 29-year-old.

The Kangaroos swoop was a shock given the Suns planned to put Greenwood back on the club's list during the draft period but a better offer from North left Gold Coast blindsided.

"It was a bit of shock," Powell said after the first day of Suns' pre-season training on Monday.

"He got us all on a Zoom and he told us before it all came out.

"We all respect his decision. He's doing it for his family ... we don't hold grudges or anything.

"That's the industry."

The Greenwood fiasco was quickly tempered by the news vice-captain and reigning club champion Touk Miller had penned a five-year deal tieing him to the club until the end of 2027.

For Powell, who finished second to Miller in last season's best-and-fairest count for the Suns, Miller's commitment couldn't have come at a better time as the club looks to finally make a serious finals bid in 2022.

The 22-year-old says he's eager himself to take on more of a leadership role on field heading into his fifth season and believes it won't take much of a change for the club's results to improve dramatically.

"It's just the cohesion in the group. Just getting even tighter and playing with each other longer and knowing each other, knowing each other's ways we play," he said.

"Just connecting all the dots.

"We've got a few dots scattered around. We just need to connect them and when we connect them it's going to be pretty special."