Gold Coast's Joel Jeffrey has emerged as a vital cog in the Suns' defence, having locked down a regular spot in the back-six in what has been his most consistent AFL campaign to date.

The 23-year-old Wulwulam and Kukatj man has featured in all 12 of Gold Coast's matches throughout 2025, and continues to grow in confidence as the season progresses.

Fresh off the bye, Jeffrey says he and his teammates are recharged and focused as they look to break new ground by qualifying for the club's first-ever finals series.

"It's obviously always good to get a freshen up, the boys (get to) get out and spend time with their family," Jeffrey told Suns Media.

"It is an important time (coming toward) the backend of the season – we want to push for finals for the first time in the club's history and we're on great track to do that.

"Everyone's freshened up and ready to go against GWS."

Jeffrey used the mid-season break to unwind on the Gold Coast, spending time four-wheel driving with teammate Jy Farrar.

How focus now turns to Sunday's clash against Greater Western Sydney in what has been dubbed the 'Expansion Cup'– a battle between the AFL's two youngest clubs.

The Suns have not beaten the Giants in Sydney since 2013, and Jeffrey knows it will take a complete performance to end that drought.

"We're going to have to bring our best footy, they're playing great footy at the moment but so are we," he said.

"We can't wait to get down to Sydney."

GWS are coming off a strong win over reigning premiers Brisbane, but Jeffrey says the Suns are concentrating on themselves rather than worrying about the opposition.

"Obviously they had a great win last week," he added.

"We're just going to stick to our gameplan and not focus on them too much.

"(We will) just focus on what we've been doing, because we've been great all season, so we'll just do what's been working for us.

"It's going to be a big game at their stadium, so we're looking forward to it."

Jeffrey has taken significant strides in 2025, particularly in the defensive side of his game – an area he's made a point of improving.

"Working on my defensive game has been a big improvement," he said.

"I could always do great things with the footy offensively, but defensively I've had to improve my game, which I feel like I have.

"I've got great trust from my teammates."

While proud of the progress he has made, Jeffrey remains focused on sharpening the finer points of his game to continue evolving as a footballer.

"Probably just the little things," he said when asked about his areas of focus.

"I felt like I've improved on aspects of my game, which is always helpful, it's been helping me keep my spot in the backline.

"I just want to keep working on the little things that I've been doing throughout the year."