The Gold Coast SUNS are set to take on Southport on Saturday as they play for the Mackenzie Cup at Fankhauser Reserve during Round Three of the Smithy’s VFL season.

The Easter Weekend game is played in honour of the contributions the late Dr Alan Mackenzie made to both teams and Queensland football over five decades, with the winning team lifting the cup at the final siren.

The SUNS VFL team set to fight for the cup will look slightly different to the one that played the season opener against Werribee with several young SUNS talents stepping up into Damien Hardwick’s AFL side, playing Melbourne at the MCG on Sunday.

As development and priming are at the forefront of the VFL program's efforts, VFL Head Coach and Head of Development Tate Kaesler is pleased to see hard work recognised and rewarded with AFL selection.

“The most important part we value is when we can push players forward to be ready for AFL, and that's what we've done this week,” Kaesler commented.

“Lachie Gulbin is a great story. He’s been working really hard, so it’s good to see guys like him get pushed up into the AFL squad.

“This is also an opportunity for someone else to stamp their ground in VFL and put their best foot forward, whether that is one of our StreetSmarts SUNS Academy boys or VFL listed players.”

Off the back of several SUNS having been rewarded with AFL selection, the VFL side prepares to take with them several learnings from Round One into this weekend’s competitive game against Southport.

“We have worked on a lot over the past two weeks to be ready for the Sharks and have taken a lot away from Round One in terms of our ability to move the ball and defend,” Kaesler commented.

“With playing Southport quite regularly we have a fairly good understanding of the way they play so our aim is to use the ball and secure good inside 50’s, from there it’s the score efficiency that we want to work on.

“What we have to ensure is that when the pressure comes during the game, we can absorb that and turn it into a positive for us.”

As Round Three has a little extra on the line with the Mackenzie Cup being all to play for, SUNS key defender Caleb Graham said the hit out is set to be a fiery one.

“We want to put our best foot forward to show the game the respect it deserves, and hopefully at the end of the day we’re the ones holding the cup,” Graham said.

Lock in your Easter Saturday plans and cheer on the SUNS at 12:05pm AEST as they take on the Sharks at Fankhauser Reserve or tune in via the official AFL & VFL websites and apps.