Some words of wisdom from Rhyce Shaw and Gold Coast's coaching staff have helped propel co-captain Niamh McLaughlin to arguably the best football of her career.
The dynamic half-back won her first All-Australian blazer in 2025, yet her coach saw an area to improve heading into this season.
"Just about being more predictable. Sometimes I can be a bit fast," McLaughlin said.
"My decision-making. When to go fast and when I can go slow.
"When I feel stages of the game when I need to find a mark to settle things down with my kicking or whether I feel like there's space for me to open the game up. Just getting that balance right.
"I think I've improved in that, which has hopefully helped the team."
Since coming to Australia from Ireland ahead of the 2023 season, McLaughin has made her name as a run-and-carry, make-it-up-as-you-go dashing defender.
Her brazen style of play often opens the field up ahead of her, but there's noticeably been more balance this season with some excellent decisions to find teammates in space.
"Niamh's been unreal," Shaw said.
"She rocks up every week and takes the game on, which is a very hard thing to do. People under-estimate that.
"That's a hard gig. You've got to attack and you've got to defend as well, and I think she's got that balance this year.
"She's improved again … I think she's been better than she was last year. I don't think she's had a down game."
The numbers have improved, from 23 to 25 disposals a game, but that doesn't tell the full story.
McLaughlin is inside the competition's top 10 for intercept possessions and has been a key pillar for the SUNS in winning the ball back and launching counterattacks alongside her half-back buddy, Daisy D'Arcy.
The 33-year-old is in her second season of captaincy alongside Lucy Single, helping the SUNS rise from wooden spooners to finalists.
"When you've got such a big turnover, it's hard to know where you're going to go," she said.
"We knew we had the talent. We knew we had the experience of the girls here before.
"We've got some excellent players that have been around for a long time and we knew the girls coming in were going to bring some fresh energy.
"It's been really special."
