Gold Coast captain Gary Ablett isn’t performing as well as he has shown he can but Suns coach Rodney Eade is backing his star midfielder to return to past glories.

Ablett’s form has come under a spotlight in recent weeks after the Suns were on the end of back-to-back AFL thrashings by Geelong and Melbourne.

The dual Brownlow Medallist was also involved in a verbal dispute with a fan after the loss to the Demons at Metricon Stadium.

Eade says the 32-year-old is playing through some minor niggles but is confident Ablett will find a way to return to the form which made him the game’s premier player prior to a serious shoulder injury in 2014.