Gold Coast SUNS coach Rodney Eade is adamant his side must establish a firm foundation built on the appropriate pillars so the club can enjoy sustained success in the future.
 
Winless from three starts is hardly the ideal start to anyone’s coaching tenure, but the former Sydney Swans and Western Bulldogs mentor is not panicking despite the SUNS poor start to 2015.
 
It was widely predicted that Eade’s men would reach a maiden finals series this season, but Gold Coast’s new coach believes it’s more important to build the club in the right manner so when the SUNS do play finals football, they can challenge the best sides and not just make up the numbers in September.
 
“We’ve got to put a baseline in for what we stand for. We can’t just flick and twist and throw the baby out with the bath water just to chase a win. We’ve got to set a foundation that’s going to hold us in good stead going forward,” Eade told reporters on Friday ahead of the SUNS game against Greater Western Sydney.
 
“Whenever we make finals, we’ve got to make sure we make an impact in those finals, rather than in and just happy to be there. It’s putting that foundation in, we’re not there yet, we’ve still got some work to do.”
 
After a disappointing beginning to 2015, Gold Coast turned the corner against Geelong at Simonds Stadium last weekend. Despite not departing with the win, Eade’s men produced a performance built on effort and intensity. Two key ingredients that were absent in the opening two rounds.
 
With Greater Western Sydney starting their season impressively, they pose an enormous challenge for the SUNS in Canberra. Eade explained that his side must bring the same effort that they showed against the Cats last weekend – there’s no value in doing it one week, and then not the next.
 
“I suppose with the education we’re putting in, they were disappointed with the weekend not winning and it was a fairly firm review again, more positive but the fact that we just can’t have effort one week and not the next week,” Eade said.
 
“It’s all about (being) consistent. The wins will look after themselves, I don’t think we can put the cart before the horse and say we’ve got to win this week and then you actually forget about the way you’ve got to go about it. The pleasing thing this week was the education, the players are really embracing it.”