Sydney had been expected to come off second best after Nick Malceski's move to the Gold Coast but almost halfway through the season the Swans are yet to feel the absence of the All-Australian backman.

Instead, it is Malceski who has had trouble adjusting to his career change at a club whose 2015 campaign has spectacularly unravelled when many thought they were on the verge of making giant strides forward.

Struggling: Nick Malceski has had trouble adjusting at new club the Suns. Credit:Getty Images

Few would have thought last October when Malceski signed a three-year deal as a free agent with Gold Coast that the man who was one of Sydney's better players in last year's grand final would be facing his former club in the reserves.

This is due largely to injury and a lack of match practice than form though the star backman, who became a father for the second time recently, was struggling before he was eventually forced out by knee soreness.