Lukosius 'required' at Gold Coast amid trade rumours

The 24-year-old is linked to a move back to his South Australian home, reportedly meeting with Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks last week.

Asked of the trade rumours on Thursday, Hardwick insisted Lukosius still had a place at the Suns.

The veteran coach says he's determined to get the most out of the classy forward, with Lukosius's current contract running through to the end of 2026.

"At this time of year, there's always speculation, isn't there?" Hardwick said on Thursday.

"From our point of view, he's a required player.

"As I said last week, some of that's on Jack, some of that's on me.

"We just got to figure out how better to utilise him.

"He's an incredibly talented player that I feel I haven't got the best out of him yet, so we've got to sit down and figure out what that looks like.

"That's on me first and foremost as a coach, but he's got some areas of the game that he needs to improve, but the fact is, so does every other player within the AFL.

"We'll get through that and we'll make sure he becomes a very valuable player for us in the coming weeks."

Lukosius has struggled to consolidate his spot in Hardwick's line-up since the three-time premiership coach landed at the club.

He was made to ply his trade in defence for a month before returning to attack when Hardwick admitted the switch had not worked in May.

Lukosius has since returned to the forward line and has kicked 21 goals across 20 games so far this season.

"What I know is he's a highly talented player who has got an incredible skill set," Hardwick said.

"I've just got to figure out how I can harness that for the benefit of Jack and the team.

"We know that. We have honest conversations and he knows where he's at and knows the areas that I want him to get better at.

"He's had an honest conversation with me about what that needs to look like for him as well.

"We've got a really good relationship. He's a terrific young man so from that point of view, my job as a coach is to make sure I get the very best out of him."

Gold Coast return home to host 13th-placed Melbourne on Saturday in the penultimate round of the regular season.