On payback mission, Miller's 200th chance to say thanks

Touk Miller has hung in there for 199 AFL games and wants to use his milestone to say thanks, confident success isn't far away for his beloved Gold Coast.

The midfielder will become just the second man to play 200 games for the Suns when they meet Hawthorn in Darwin on Thursday night.

Their top-four status is a reflection of the strides made at both clubs, especially significant for a Suns team yet to play finals since their 2011 inception.

Miller, who this season has overtaken retired Jarrod Harbrow (192 games) to sit only behind David Swallow (241) on the Suns' appearance list.

He has been there since 2015 and watched many of his teammates flourish then leave for more established clubs to contend and often win premierships.

"You've got to pay them back," he said when asked why he didn't join them.

"If I was to leave I would have seen so much happen between now and then. Not to see it out would be pretty heartbreaking.

"I'm entrenched in this club, I love it ... I've seen the ups and downs and ready to see success."

The Suns withstood the Western Bulldogs' tremendous fourth-quarter surge to win by 10 points at TIO Stadium on Saturday.

It was the Suns' seventh win from as many games in Darwin and pushed them to fourth with a 6-2 record.

"If we knew what the secret sauce was we'd probably use it everywhere," Miller said.

"But in games like the weekend, you have this extra belief that we're really good here."

Hawthorn (7-2) sit a spot higher than Gold Coast, equal on points with second-placed Collingwood.

"It makes us a great team and builds our identity and hopefully everyone gets to see that," Miller said of the Suns' list of gutsy plays with the game on the line against the Bulldogs.

"But you put it to bed and get ready for Hawthorn.

"They're playing good footy and so are we, and now we can start to have belief we're a really good side and can compete.

"We can't look too far ahead ... we want to play finals - that's the destination - but the reality is we have to win games in front of us."

Miller's family and close friends will be at the ground on Thursday night and the player's thoughts will be with them and others who've helped him there.

"It's still just a footy game, but not everyone gets to get to 200 games," he said.

"It's going to be pretty special. It's less about me and more about them and how much they've done to put me in this position."