Senior Coach Stuart Dew says the SUNS will use the untimely injury of captain Touk Miller as an opportunity for others to earn minutes in the engine room.

Miller will miss a portion of the AFL season after suffering a left knee injury in last Sunday’s win over North Melbourne.

While the SUNS would love nothing more than its two-time defending Club Champion available for selection, it presents a chance to develop and further strengthen the squad’s midfield depth.

“It means opportunity for others. We need to use this opportunity to find and model players who can play through there,” Dew said.

“That’s exciting in terms of our development.”

The SUNS named an extended squad on Thursday evening for Sunday’s Round 7 clash against Richmond at Marvel Stadium with 19-year-old.

That extended squad features both 19-year-old Bailey Humphrey and the experienced David Swallow in the midfield, with fellow on-ball options in Brayden Fiorini, Alex Daviesand Rory Atkins named on an extended bench that will be cut on Friday evening.

Humphrey was impactful as the sub in just his third AFL game last week, while at the other end of the spectrum, Swallow will this weekend extend his tally as the SUNS Games Record holder with plenty of midfield experience in his 203 games.

“In light of that injury, it’d be negligent of us to not make the most of it and have a look at different options through there,” Dew continued.

The SUNS haven’t dwelled on last weekend’s 43-point victory over the Kangaroos, quickly averting attention to taming the Tigers under the roof on Sunday.

“What we did well last week was deal well with the expectation and the pressure and get the job done. We really quickly moved on to Richmond,” Dew continued.

“They’re in a position where they’ve played some outstanding football and nobody has talked about that, they’re talking about things that aren’t clicking for them.

“They have the ability to score quickly, but our expectations don’t change. We just want to play our way for as long as possible.”