Gold Coast captain Noah Anderson says the Suns are deliberately easing pressure on star recruit Jamarra Ugle-Hagan as the former No.1 draft pick works to rediscover his love of football — insisting enjoyment, not expectation, will determine how quickly the talented forward returns to his best.
With external hype building around both Ugle-Hagan and a Gold Coast side entering the season carrying genuine expectation for the first time, Anderson said the club’s leadership group had made a conscious decision to strip performance demands back to basics.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan played his first game in more than a year last week.Credit: AFL Photos via Getty Images
“The main thing for me as captain was just to get him in and enjoying footy again and being amongst the group,” Anderson told this masthead.
“We’ve tried to release some of that pressure on him to perform. Our group welcomed him with open arms and wanted him to feel supported and find that love for the game again.
“Then I think the performance comes off the back of that.”
Ugle-Hagan last week returned to competitive football after more than a year away from senior matches, and Anderson said patience — internally and externally — would be critical.
“There’s no pressure on him to be kicking five in round one or setting the game alight early,” he said.
“He hasn’t played a game in over a year and a half, so we have to be realistic with where he’s at. But the AFL world has seen how special he can be at his best, so hopefully we can get a bit of that eventually.”
The measured approach mirrors a broader shift at Gold Coast. After years spent chasing credibility, the Suns now find themselves confronting something unfamiliar: expectation.
The AFL captains get ready for the 2026 season. Credit: Getty Images
“Expectations are high externally and they’re high internally,” Anderson said.
“It’s a new experience for me as captain and for our group to see that from the outside. We learned some really good lessons dealing with that pressure towards the end of last year.”
Gold Coast’s breakthrough finals appearance has altered the club’s internal standards, but Anderson said the focus had already moved beyond symbolic progress.
“The expectation of the group is that we keep improving,” he said.
“We want to go longer at the end of the year, play deeper in finals and ultimately get to the biggest stage. But we understand there’s still a lot in our game that needs improvement before we get there.”
While last season brought individual recognition for several Suns players, Anderson said personal accolades were irrelevant to what the group is chasing.
“I’m not in the game for individual accolades and I don’t think Matt Rowell is either,” he said.
“I want to be pushing for premierships as captain. That’s what I want our group pushing for.
“We’ve been pretty bad for a long time and I’m pretty keen to have sustained success over a long period here.”
For Anderson, sustained success means building the type of consistency shown by clubs such as arch rivals Brisbane — sides that contend annually rather than briefly surge.
“Consistently competing at the top and having a clear identity and brand of football where teams know what they’re going to get from us — that’s the goal,” he said.
Confidence inside the club has been strengthened by major list additions, including star recruit Christian Petracca, whose arrival Anderson said shifted belief levels within the playing group.
“It was a cool experience bringing someone in of that level,” he said.
“He’s an amazing player who’s had an amazing career, and for him to want to join the club is huge for us.
Noah Anderson at the AFL’s annual captains’ day on Monday.Credit: Getty Images
“It’s helped the group believe we can really compete with the best. We showed signs of that last year beating some really good teams in big games.”
After several seasons spent narrowly missing finals, Anderson believes last year’s breakthrough removed a psychological barrier that had lingered within the group.
“It always felt like we were close — probably closer than people thought — which was extremely frustrating,” he said.
“Last year was important to actually get through that hurdle, play finals and experience it. Now the expectation is to build from there.”
And while optimism around the Suns continues to grow, Anderson said the club’s immediate focus remains grounded — starting with ensuring players such as Ugle-Hagan feel supported enough to thrive again.
“Once that love for footy is there,” he said, “everything else can follow.”
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