Stuart Dew says the opening round’s wet and wild win over North Melbourne will hold little relevance when the two sides meet again at Etihad Stadium on Sunday afternoon.
The SUNS ran out 16-point victors up in Cairns to start the season, but since then North have gone on to win eight games and are currently ninth on the ladder.
“(There’s) probably two extremes from when we last played North, we’ve gone from outdoor monsoons to indoors (at Etihad),” Dew told the media on Thursday morning.
“They’re in good form and it’s another challenge, we’re looking forward to getting down to Melbourne.
“(Round one’s) so far from what we’re going to get this week from a conditions point of view but their side is different and so is ours so it’s a long time ago.”
Dew says the Kangaroos can’t be underestimated after a surprising season to date.
“They’ve had a really good year no doubt, their A-graders are really firing,” he said.
“With a target like Ben Brown up front, I think he’s a crucial part to their side and the delivery has been outstanding.”
“(They have a) really strong midfield which we knew from round one and we are looking forward to the challenge to meet them in different conditions and test ourselves.”
In his post-match press conference, Dew praised the effort of his side and considered the match against Collingwood as a real turning-point for the club.
He was particularly pleased with the second half where the SUNS were able to hit back and win the final quarter.
“Probably on the weekend our last 30-40 minutes was the longest we’ve really strung together,” Dew said.
“We didn’t get the reward but I think we had 12 shots to about 5 against a quality side who are sitting in the top 4.”
He’s now asking his players to maintain that effort over the remainder of the season.
“That’s our challenge now, we’re trying to continually set some new benchmarks and string that five minutes out to ten, twenty, thirty and win some quarters.
“We won the last quarter on the weekend and that’s where we’re striving for that consistency.”