Travelling south to take on the competitions form side in Hawthorn this weekend, midfielder Danny Stanley is confident nothing will change, saying the GC SUNS players will back themselves against the high flying Hawks.
“We’ve got two wins in a row now, and we have some great competition ahead of us in Hawthorn at the MCG,” Stanley said.
“We had a good win there against Melbourne so hopefully we can take some form and the confidence gained after our win against the Bulldogs and bring that into the next match against the Hawks.”
While they are under no illusions and know the enormity of their task this weekend, the GC SUNS will certainly draw extra confidence from their pre-season encounter when Luke Russell landed the winning score after-the-siren to kick start the Club’s NAB Cup campaign at Metricon Stadium.
Statistically the Gold Coasters currently match up quiet well against Hawthorn leading into the Round 9 clash, although it could be argued last years beaten grand finalists have endured a much tougher start to the year.
Guy McKenna’s charges lead Hawthorn in contested possessions with the Gold Coasters ranked 4th ahead of the Hawks 5th and tackles 9th their rivals 10th two key performance indicators the side have focussed on improving since commencing their gruelling summer training camp.
With two wins under their belt and renewed confidence in the air, Stanley says the senior team is looking forward to boarding the flight to Melbourne this Friday and doing their best to bring home to the chocolates.
“We didn’t get the best start (against the Bulldogs); they were beating us in the contested football and that was something we prided ourselves on,” Stanley said.
“Once we evened the numbers out we played with a bit more composure and was able to get some scores on the board.”
Disposals and disposal efficiency will be the biggest areas of concern for the Gold Coasters on Saturday with Stanley telling goldcoastfc.com.au the GCSUNS would need to make the most of their opportunities with the football from the opening bounce.
“It will be important to make the most of our opportunities from the opening siren, because Hawthorn are a side who can apply strong scoreboard pressure and post big scores very quickly.”
Senior coach Guy McKenna echoed Stanley’s confidence in the playing group, saying his side has become better equipped with handling matches under pressure – in particularly against the more experienced and super-talented Hawks this weekend.
“We get to play one of the heavyweights of the competition, and with all the tests we had to face this season this test will be something special for us,” McKenna said.
“I think the boys are better able to stand up and absorb that.”
But McKenna warned his players would need to show more poise against the uncompromising Hawks, with the home-side likely to punish the visitors on the scoreboard if they allow for too many mistakes in defence.
“If we bring composure and effort then we give ourselves a chance of competing,” McKenna said.
“It’s all about being able to compete for longer, and if we do that, then we give ourselves the best chance of winning.”
