Gold Coast coach Cameron has a big decision to make ahead of Sunday's season-shaping match against Richmond – who does stopper Lucy Single go to?

Single has been a revelation in recent weeks, running with star trio Bri Davey, Ellie Blackburn and Ebony Marinoff and doing a strong job on each occasion.

She forced Davey from the midfield to the forward line, had more disposals than Blackburn, and in Sunday's loss to Adelaide, restricted the prolific Marinoff to 18 disposals.

But ahead of facing the Tigers, Joyce has a conundrum.

"We go back to when we played them last year and she did a super job on (Eilish) Sheerin and it's something we've spoken about in match committee," Joyce said.

"Do we go back to that? Does she play on an (Grace) Egan or (Mon) Conti in the midfield?

"They've certainly got some threats that we need to be across. I think she's adaptable to do a few things."

Sheerin had just 12 disposals when the teams met last season, but despite Single's excellent work, the SUNS lost by four points.

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Joyce said the 21-year-old had the physical attributes to match most opponents, with a great mix of speed, endurance and strength.

"I'm just really happy how she's embraced the role and then been able to grab hold of it and make it her own," he said.

"She's been able to get a bit of the footy as well, but also contain some of the best in the competition so far.

"She knows as well as anyone that they don't get easier every week, you're playing on the best players in the competition … there's no let up."

With the SUNS and Tigers plonked in a cluster of teams sporting a 3-2 win-loss record and being separated by percentage only, the Ikon Park contests looms as critical to their finals aspirations.

Joyce said Gold Coast could not afford to look at the outcome.

"I think they've got clear weapons across the ground, in all three zones," he said.

"They certainly can move the footy really well. They were a good defensive team last year and held teams to low scores, and they've done a little bit of that already this year.

"If we start worrying about that stuff (results), that will come into our psyche and it just won't help us."