Gold Coast Club Ambassador Malcolm Blight believes the SUNS backline is in good hands with Steven May and Rory Thompson manning the key posts.

However, the caveat is that the pair needs some continuity in order to deliver success to Metricon Stadium with May and Thompson playing just 14 games together in 2016.

All six of the club’s wins came in those games.

With the two key defenders on the field, Blight believes coach Rodney Eade can ‘mix and match around them’ in 2017 with an arsenal of rebounding defenders including Nick Malceski, Trent McKenzie, Sean Lemmens, Kade Kolodjashnij, Adam Saad, Jack Martin and Jarrod Harbrow at his disposal.

“I would love to see Steven and Rory play a season together,” Blight said on the weekly podcast Shining Blight.

“We had a good start to the year then Steven got suspended for those five weeks, that’s fair enough.

“When him and Rory came back together, our performances went up enormously. There were other reasons why as well but if you can put those two and stop the two major players on the other end, the smaller blokes can feed off them.

“I’ve always thought if you look at every great premiership team, there’s always one key jet at the back and we think Steven’s that and Rory’s an able lieutenant.

“We can mix and match around them, with Harbs and Saady, Kade Kolodjashnij and the rest. There’s heaps there. So I’m really comfortable provided they stay on the ground.”