Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick paid credit to skipper Noah Anderson and his leadership group for the mid-match reversal.

Anderson fought hard through a James Jordon tag to finish with 21 touches, while Touk Miller (24) continued a fantastic season and Ben King (five goals) capitalised forward of the ball.

"The leadership group has a really good understanding of what is required at certain times," Hardwick said.

"It is not often you get five goals behind the Sydney Football Club and manage to win by five goals. 

"That is a massive achievement. They are a club that we are aiming to become. I think today was a bit of a step forward towards that."

The victory sets up a mouth-watering QClash against premier Brisbane next Sunday night.

With both teams in the top four, Hardwick said the clash would be a great measuring stick of his team's development.

"We got a great taste of it today against a great side … we knew they would come out firing," he said.

"Next week we get a really important challenge against a side we haven't done particularly well against, so we are looking forward to it.