Damien Hardwick has called for clarity on the holding-the-ball rule, labelling it a "chook lotto" following his team's nine-point win over Essendon on Saturday.

The Gold Coast coach was fired up post-match, saying the inconsistency in interpreting the rule was driving him insane.

"The holding ball rule is like chook lotto," Hardwick said.

"I sit there and don't know half the time what's going to happen.

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"A guy with an arm pinned, waiting for the ball to be called for a stoppage, or the other option is a dump tackle. Just blow the whistle.

"It's like we've completely gone away from secondary stoppages because we think it kills the game.

"At least be consistent in your interpretation throughout the whole game."

Hardwick referenced two final quarter incidents involving Bailey Humphrey and Matt Rowell where they were whistled for an infringement after being pinned immediately upon gaining possession.

Many of Gold Coast's 20 free kicks conceded came via holding the ball.

"Unless there's been a rule change, let me know," Hardwick continued.

"I don't want to get angry, it's Saturday, I want to go home and have a beer and relax on the couch. But let's just fix it.

"The interpretation change. Be consistent on that and we'll work through with our players.

"But when Rowell is in a 50-50 grapple, grabs the ball and is immediately tackled, are we blowing the whistle or are we not?

"The inconsistency is going to drive us insane. Secondary stoppages are ok. We don't want to completely eradicate the rucks."

Despite his frustration with the rule, Hardwick was pleased enough with Gold Coast's performance as it saw off a hungry opponent.

The SUNS trailed by 12 points late in the third quarter, but did enough to eke out their fourth victory of the season.

Hardwick said he was still trying to figure out the best balance for his team and was unsure whether skipper Noah Anderson would return to play Hawthorn next week following an operation to remove his appendix on Monday.

"It's just post-surgery, it takes time obviously," he said.

"He's a very good player, so you can imagine me, I'm dying to get him back, but also from a medical point of view he's got to be cleared so it's probably less likely than more likely he plays, but I'll be doing everything (I can)."

Jamarra Ugle-Hagan kicked five goals in the VFL in his first game back from minor knee surgery and is closing in on an AFL debut for his second club.

"He'll have another run next week … but he's getting closer. I was really excited about what he showed," Hardwick said.

"What he's also really working on, and we started to see, is he had a couple of chasedown tackles, which is great.

"He feels as good as he's felt for a number of years, which is very promising, and we're looking forward to him at some stage donning our jumper for the first time."