Hard truths: How beers with ‘Dimma’ helped skipper grow as team’s season nosedived

As the Suns’ season of promise started to wobble and losses grew, the club’s relatively young skipper Noah Anderson and triple premiership coach Damien Hardwick decided to go for a beer.

The pair spoke all the time and had a high regard for each other, but amid reports of a disconnect between the coaching staff and players – which the club has constantly disputed – the time had arrived for real talk without the club colours on.

Hardwick needed a skipper who wasn’t afraid to pass on his deep football knowledge, and Anderson needed to understand and believe his coach would welcome feedback from players so he could coach the group well.

The beer was a good chance to make it clear that was the case, so the pair could continue the crucial partnership in lockstep, rather than making unsaid assumptions about each other as pressure grew.

“It’s probably a growth in our relationship where I need to, at times, stand up and deliver him feedback and trust that what I am seeing might be different to him, but what I am seeing might still be true,” Anderson told this masthead.

“As a young, relatively inexperienced captain, that has been a big growth for me to have those hard conversations with the coach and assistant coaches about what I think we could be doing differently and trusting that relationship that we are [all] trying to get the best out of a situation.

“‘Dimma’ (Hardwick) has been super supportive, and it has probably really enhanced our relationship, having to push each other a little bit more at times, which is probably a real area of growth I have got as captain this year.”

Unfortunately, despite the shared attempts to find solutions, the Suns’ losses continued to mount with the tally now at 10 in a row.

The scrutiny on the club is now real with everything from the coach’s penchant to talking about his experiences at the Tigers, animated discussions between players and the constant retention issue being raised as possible reasons for the failure.

But the club is looking deeper. They believe the scaffolding is in place. Hardwick said after the loss to Carlton a fortnight ago he expects to look back on the time as one where vital lessons were learned that will propel the club to the success they are all desperate to achieve.

Anderson shares the coach’s optimism but doesn’t sugarcoat the way the season has panned out with the club out of finals contention with three matches remaining.

“It has been a challenging year,” he said.

The expectations were as big internally as they were externally when the Suns began their season with three wins by more than 50 points and sat on top of the ladder with a percentage of 191.

Prized recruit Christian Petracca was leading voting for the coaches’ award, Ben King was leading the goalkicking with 16 goals and they were installed as premiership favourites after their maiden finals win the previous season.

But those expectations have been dashed as the team spiralled into a form decline they could not arrest.

“I have faith that this won’t last forever and we will get our learnings from it, and hopefully one day soon [we will] be able to look back on it as a real learning for us and a real blessing, even though it is not really what we expected heading into the year,” Anderson said.

Putting the finger on the reasons is not easy, however Anderson is adamant it has nothing to do with the connection of the group off field or the fact King has not re-signed with the club after hopes were high in the first half of the season that he would remain.

Injuries to Dan Rioli, Lachie Weller and Will Graham robbed the team of leg speed at a vital time and also exposed the depth as inexperienced talent replaced some role players who departed, as happens regularly to the Suns through little fault of their own.

The new ruck rules dulled Jarrod Witts’ impact and the four players who filled the top four placings in last year’s club best and fairest award – Matt Rowell, Anderson, Touk Miller and Bailey Humphrey – have not shown the same form in 2026.

Rowell, who won last year’s Brownlow Medal, battled a hand injury suffered in the pre-season State of Origin match, and that affected his performance, and potentially, his confidence.

Miller’s adaptation to a slightly different role took time, while constant speculation about Humphrey’s future distracted the talented youngster, who has seemed closer to his damaging best lately. And clearly, the coaching message was failing to translate on the field at various stages.

When asked whether the team’s woes simply come down to their best players not playing well this season, Anderson, who shared last year’s AFL coaches’ award with Geelong’s Bailey Smith, acknowledged that it hadn’t helped.

“It is a fair question,” he said.

“We have had a few guys, myself included, who have not had the same level of years we had last year and probably been a bit inconsistent. I don’t put it down to one thing.”

Anderson makes the candid admission that his frustration with the team’s performance saw him spread himself too thin.

“I probably battled a little bit with trying to control too much at times,” Anderson said.

“I have been frustrated with the way we have been performing, and I have tried to plug every hole possible that I can find, rather than just executing the role.”

“I know I have had some really good learnings throughout the year on that, and I am still developing in my role as captain as to when to nail my role for the team and execute and when to help someone else out.”

It’s a difficult process for a player whose career had progressed in a somewhat upwards linear fashion until this season.

His frustration and that of other senior players has been noted by other clubs, with the most notable example coming when Petracca and Leo Lombard exchanged terse words during the match against Carlton.

That interaction happened at a forward stoppage, and the club’s scores from stoppages are one raw indication of the drop-off this season. In 2026, the Suns have averaged 31.7 points from stoppages. When they were flying last season, they were scoring 38.9 points from stoppages. It’s one example of many parts of their game that have been below par.

“We have taken some reality checks this year … which has been pretty difficult to deal with emotionally,” Anderson said.

“As a group, you sort of feel like the world is ending after a game. What brings you back is your connection with your teammates and coaches and club.”

The club has been doing plenty of soul-searching, which will continue in earnest in the post-season. The hierarchy expects to find areas that need tweaking, but also have a level of confidence that the dip is just that rather than an endemic failure.

Anderson, a highly regarded player throughout the competition, has clearly felt the burden this season but will end it knowing he can rely on those around him for support and that relationships forged through fire often strengthen. If nothing else, that’s a positive to take into the post-season.

“We know it has been a really tough year. We’ve been disappointing. We know that,” Anderson said.

“We have had to have a lot of bad reviews and hard conversations and done a lot of looking in the mirror and reflecting and learning,” Anderson said. “But one thing that has stayed amazingly solid is the relationships of the football club and the investment of the playing group and the coaches to let each other know we have got each other’s backs and we love and support each other and are trying to do the best for each other.”

With three games remaining Anderson is still determined to finish off the season on a winning note with many gains able to be made but he knows it will take time before he can reflect on the season with a smile.

“I’d be lying to say it’s been an unreal year and I am having the time of my life. It has had its challenges, but I have got faith that we will come out the other side as a better team,” he said.

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