After suffering their first loss of the NEAFL season, Gold Coast’s development coach Aaron Rogers says the team are keen to bounce back.

Winning the contested footy has been a key trait for the team, but that was an area that they were beaten in by Brisbane on Sunday.

“It wasn't the perfect result for us, but we had a good effort from our younger group,” Rogers said.

“I think we got beaten in the contested footy which has been the hallmark of our campaign so far, which I think was part of the reason we lost.”

“We'll just be getting back to our bread and butter which is contested ball and tackles. That's our brand and what we value so we'll get our head down and bum up in that area and try to get back on the right side of the ledger.”

Forward Callum Ah Chee was a welcome addition to the team, having recovered from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him in recent weeks.

The 20-year-old added some class to the SUNS line-up and despite playing limited minutes, finished with 16 disposals and one goal.

“We had Cal Ah Chee come back from a long time on the sidelines, so it was really good to see him out there. 

“He only played limited game time but he certainly gave us some spark in the area we were deficient in, that contested ball.” 

Gold Coast’s NEAFL side have been rotating their captaincy throughout the early part of the season, and against the Lions it was Academy graduate Brayden Crossley who took the reins.

The ruckman has a strong presence on the field and showed that he has leadership potential, a trait he has in common with his junior teammate Jacob Dawson.

“He’s the sort of guy that puts people on his shoulders and charges ahead. He’s in his first year, so it’s a challenging role for him,”

“Jacob Dawson did it (in round one), and funnily enough they grew up together and have both got really good leadership qualities, so we’re really interested in exploring that a bit more,

“But it was a great role for him today.”