INJURY BLOW FOR ROSAS Suns’ forward plans in doubt

Gold Coast forward Malcolm Rosas Jr will not feature in the Suns’ Community Series clash with the Giants on Thursday night after suffering a quad strain late in last week’s preseason hitout against Brisbane.

Rosas was a notable absentee at training on Tuesday and assistant coach Shaun Grigg later revealed the 22-year-old had “pulled up tight” after the Lions match.

“Unfortunately he got a bit of an injury in his quad so we won’t see him this week,” Grigg said.

“Hopefully he’s not too far away. It’s an unfortunate time for Mally. He’s a silky player … we’re looking forward to getting him back amongst it.”

Rosas’ injury comes at the worst possible time for both he and new coach Damien Hardwick, who still appears undecided on the forward 50 makeup ahead of the Opening Round clash against Richmond on March 9.

Hardwick revealed this month that Rosas was “probably behind a few players at this stage” of pre-season, suggesting the silky small forward was on the outer for an Opening Round berth with the likes of James Tsitas, Tom Berry and Darcy Macpherson all seemingly preferred.

But after his forward line struggled to fire against the Lions last week – and Rosas impressed in a mid-forward hybrid role during the VFL hitout – it could have opened the door for the Darwin product to break his way back into calculations, before this latest injury.

“Highly talented player still trying to find his way,” Hardwick said of Rosas.

“When the ball is in his hands special things happen. We just have to make sure we can get the ball in his hands more.

“The challenge for Rosas is I don’t want to fit a square peg in a round hole. He’s an unstructured player. If I try to make him play structured, it doesn’t allow him to play to his strengths.”

When the young forward signed a two-year contract extension in August he outlined a desire to play more midfield minutes but with the known caveat that he had to seriously improve his running capacity.

Such a role appears to be part of Hardwick’s long-term plan for Rosas as evidenced by his midfield minutes against the Lions.

With Izak Rankine’s Adelaide departure at the end of 2022 the magnifying glass shone on Rosas to fill those boots inside 50 – a comparison he disliked then and now.

The young forward has shown flashes of brilliance but has so far not been able to capture the consistency that he and Hardwick want and believe he can produce.

“I just need to switch on and be consistent with my performances,” Rosas said.

“I’m playing more mid time now so I can just play instead of being in the structure of a forward (line). He (Hardwick) wants me to just get to as many contests as I can and just play football – just play football.

“I’ve focused this pre-season on building my tank so I can get to more contests. It’s a whole different way of playing as a mid, because the running patterns are so different to a forward.

“Right now it’s just a matter of consistency for me.”