GOLD Coast chairman Tony Cochrane has implored the AFL community to get some perspective about the Suns, pointing to the massive 10-year participation growth in Queensland.

With the Suns facing an eighth consecutive finals-less season, there have been calls from some AFL pundits for the AFL to seriously consider the club’s value in the 18-team competition.

Premiership Kangaroo Wayne Schwass said he’d remove both of the expansion teams — the Suns and GWS Giants — claiming their respective introductions had heavily contributed to the game’s standard drop.

LIVE Stream every match of every round of the 2018 Toyota AFL Premiership Season. SIGN UP NOW >

Finals Week 1

Triple premiership Lion Jonathan Brown said the Suns were in “terrible” shape, claiming the Gold Coast community “do not care” about the club and that the Suns would fold if the league didn’t help the club via list build concessions.

But Cochrane told Fox Sports News’ Bill and Boz that the presence of the team had helped the game grow outside of its traditional heartland over the past decade.

“We all have to get this into a bit perspective,” Cochrane said on Wednesday night.

“Where we’re really succeeding — and I know the Giants are succeeding in western Sydney as well — is at the grassroots and junior level. AFL is absolutely growing like crazy in Queensland.

“There will be 250,000 participants this year in AFL across Queensland. What’s significant about a quarter of a million people, kids is that 10 years ago, that number was less than 25,000.”

Zali, 4, and Digby Tidey, 7, at Yeronga Football Club. Source: News Corp Australia

The Suns will almost certainly miss finals for the eighth straight season after entering the competition in 2011.

They’ve only won three of 12 their games so far this season, with Stuart Dew’s side heavily scrutinised for the way in which they’re losing games.

From the past four final quarters the Suns have played, they’ve kicked a paltry 0.2 and conceded 15.9.

While many have questioned the Suns’ fitness levels after a gruelling travel schedule while Metricon Stadium was out of action, Dew said his players “physically and mentally” froze.

LISTEN TO THE LATEST EPISODE OF THE FOX FOOTY PODCAST BELOW, OR TAP HERE TO SUBSCRIBE IN ITUNES

Sun Callum Ah Chee admitted that doubt was getting the better of the team.

“It was difficult to watch but something we needed to do,” Ah Chee told reporters this week.

“It’s about having the confidence that what we’re doing in those three quarters (is working) and at times in that last quarter the boys went quiet.

“We’re definitely fit enough; we wouldn’t put a team out there that’s not fit.”

The Suns play Hawthorn in Launceston on Saturday, where until last year the Hawks had won 19 straight.

— with AAP