Gold Coast’s leadership remains in good hands with the continued emergence in the space by some of the SUNS’ younger stars.

Vice-captains Tom Lynch, Steven May and Dion Prestia will shoulder much of the load against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday night in the absence of veterans Gary Ablett and Michael Rischitelli, who suffered season-ending injuries in the win over Brisbane.

The trio grew considerably last year under significant duress and Lynch said he was excited about the challenge facing the club’s young leaders in the last seven games of 2016.

“They’re great leaders of the football club. Gary and ‘Rish’ have been really the heart and soul,” Lynch told SUNS TV on Tuesday afternoon.

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“Dion, Maysie and myself as vice-captains need to step up now without Gaz out there and Rish. But we’re excited by the challenge.

“We’ll have Matt Rosa come back over the next few weeks as well so he’s going to help us in that space so we’re really looking forward to the challenge and really driving the standards.”

Although finals are beyond the SUNS this season, there is still plenty left to play for with momentum built in the back half of the year to be taken into this summer’s pre-season campaign.

“We think over the last month we’ve really got some momentum leading into the second half of the year so we’re looking forward to finishing strong and really take the momentum into next pre-season,” Lynch said.

There is also opportunity for players to step up, with increased exposure at senior level and significant midfield time on offer.

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Aaron Hall, Touk Miller and Peter Wright have all been beneficiaries of injuries over the past twelve months and the results of them being thrown in the deep end were on show against the Lions with Miller and Wright the SUNS’ two best players on the night.

“I think you look at the weekend. Pete Wright and Touk Miller were our two best players on the ground in their second year so it’s really exciting,” Lynch said.

“We’re going to have a couple come up from the NEAFL and really finish the year strong so we’re excited by that.”