Gold Coast's newest hero Mac Andrew is a "scary" match-winner who can be anything, says coach Damien Hardwick.
The Suns mentor also has no doubts Jack Lukosius will stay at the club, while conceding he hasn't gotten the best out of the talented South Australian.
Andrew, 20, kicked four goals, including taking a pack mark then kicking the match-winner after the siren, in Gold Coast's dramatic one-point win over Essendon at Marvel Stadium on Saturday night.
The smart, athletic big man has largely played down back, but Hardwick believed Andrew shone, and made spearhead Ben King better, in attack.
"He's an incredible player. He's an incredible young man, to be honest, like he's one of those guys our coaching staff and our players and our fans just gravitate to, and we can see what impact he's going to have on the league," Hardwick said.
"He's (20), which is scary, really. We can see what this kid's gonna do in the coming years. Obviously we're hoping he's a Suns player for a long period of time.
"But he can play both ends. He's just got a bit of swagger. He's aggressive, he's assertive, which is, I think, what our side needs and craves.
"I've been lucky to coach some match-winners along the way - he's a match-winner."
Andrew was in the thick of a melee at half-time and on Sunday received a $1250 fine for striking - while seven other players were fined for their involvement.
But he responded with the first two goals of the third quarter - much to Hardwick's delight.
"I don't want to say he's a volatile character, but he's assertive, he's aggressive, he loves that side of the game, and he responded well, which is great," Hardwick said.
Andrew's night ended on a sour note, with the young tall the target of racist abuse on social media.
On Sunday, Gold Coast condemned the abuse towards Andrew, who was born in Egypt to South Sudanese parents before moving to Victoria as a baby.
"If you’re racist, you’re not welcome in our game! Let’s celebrate the stars," the Suns wrote on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter.
Essendon quoted the post, adding: "There is no place for racism of any kind in society."
Fellow tall Lukosius was dropped for Saturday's game, sparking rumours he could look elsewhere, despite being contracted until the end of 2026.
"Look, I understand the narrative, but Jack's such an important player of our footy club," Hardwick said.
"Some of it's on me, some of it's on Jack. He's got some areas of his games that I'd certainly like him to improve.
"But I've got to sit there and as a coach figure out how to get the best out of this kid, because I'm not at the moment."
Asked if he saw Lukosius at the Suns long term, Hardwick said: "No question for me.
"He's a pretty good player. He's just in a rough patch at the moment."
