SUNS leader Georgia Clayden has revealed there’ll be no hard feelings for the Gold Coast’s former captain when they face off at Ikon Park on Saturday.
Tara Bohanna served the SUNS for three out of her four seasons with the Gold Coast before parting ways and landing at Carlton in last year’s trade period.
“I think it's like any other player - you're going to go as hard as you can, it doesn't really matter who you're playing on,” Clayden told Media at the Austworld Centre.
“She's been having a good season and we kind of know how she plays and how we can try and counteract that.
“But it'll be good to see Tarz and when the final siren goes, it'll be all smiles and hugs.”
With the previous two meetings between the SUNS and Blues resulting in a nail-biting one-point loss (2024) and two-point loss (2023), Clayden revealed the Gold Coast are eager to take home the four-points this round.
“It's always a tough game against Carlton for us, I quite like playing them,” the midfielder added.
“There’s a couple of things that we'll go to work on from our last game and just try to concentrate on an aspect of our defence.
“Carlton's cut down their uncontested marks, which is a big part of their game, so we'll be focusing on trying to shut that down.
“We know it'll be a good match-up and we're really pumped and excited.”
With several sidelined SUNS eyeing a return this round, Clayden remained confident in the capabilities of the team to step up and play their part to cover those unavailable for selection.
“It's definitely been a tricky time with the injuries, but you know, footy doesn't really wait for anyone - you've just got to dig in,” Clayden said.
“We’ve got a lot of faith in what we've been doing and training on the field and the fact that any girl in our squad can do that (fill in) is really quite exciting and important moving forward.
“Niamh especially, you can put her anywhere on the field and you just know that she'll do her job and go as hard as she can.
“She's an incredible player, who you want getting the ball as much as she possibly can.
“And she's always been an incredible leader, but stepping up as co-captain, she's done such a great job.”
The AFLW Qscan injury update will be released on Tuesday evening ahead of team selection on Thursday September 11.
The Gold Coast SUNS take on Carlton at 2:35pm AEST this Saturday. Catch all the action live across 7mate, Fox Footy, Kayo & Binge.
Secure your seat at every home-game this AFLW season here!
