The Suns moved to 2-0 - their best start since 2018 - under new coach Damien Hardwick, but did it the hard way on Saturday.

Up by 36 and keeping the Crows to just eight at halftime, they eventually prevailed 8.12 (60) to 8.6 (54).

The Crows had kicked just three majors in three quarters, but Matthew Nicks' men surged behind Josh Rachele (three goals) and former Sun Izak Rankine (two).

Rankine ran into an open goal and the lead was just eight with more than three minutes on the clock.

They squeezed out two behinds to create a manic final 75 seconds, the Crows missing two marking opportunities before Matt Rowell's decisive clearing kick killed the contest.

Hardwick said a lack of "situational training" and the Crows having "nothing to lose" contributed to the dramatic swing, not dissimilar to Richmond's late rally in the Suns' 39-point win last week.

"We can look at one quarter, or at the six out of the eight that we've been very dominant and probably had the opposition on the back foot," he said.

"What are they going to look at? The one quarter where they kicked five (goals), or the other three quarters?"

Curiously, the visitors had more inside-50s at three-quarter time than Gold Coast but lacked conviction beyond that without injured key forward Taylor Walker.

Earlier, Rowell (29 touches, nine clearances) had bulldozed his team to dominance, carrying on from last week's 20-clearance effort in a defeat of Richmond.

He and Touk Miller (29 touches, 10 clearances) dug the ball out to set up Noah Anderson (35 disposals) for a first-quarter major, those three and Sam Flanders (35 touches) all receiving high praise from Hardwick.

Nicks pushed Rankine forward to begin the second half and he sparked some joy with the Crows' first goal in nearly an hour.

But that was cancelled out by Bailey Humphrey's goal, handed to him on a platter when Brodie Smith's kick-in went straight to the man on the mark.

It built a 34-point lead for the hosts that they maintained until after the three-quarter siren, when Josh Rachele pummelled his set shot from 50 metres in driving rain.

Malcolm Rosas Jnr's second goal, from a neat Miller assist, was the steadier the Suns were chasing to begin the fourth term.

But the Crows came again, Keays and Rachele capitalising on improved pressure to each kick their second.

Rachele added another and Rankine ran into an open goal from the next centre bounce and the margin was just eight with more than three minutes to play to ensure a surprise, tight finish.

Matt Crouch had 33 disposals for the Crows while Jarrod Witts and Reilly O'Brien waged war in a gusty ruck battle.

"It hurts a little more when you get that close after really not having the game on our terms for a half," Nicks said.

"It would have been one we stole, because I felt like they beat us on the day, convincingly."

Australian Associated Press