The Gold Coast SUNS have built a solid foundation leading into the 2020 Toyota AFL Premiership Season after winning both games in the Marsh Community Series.
The SUNS had a big win over Geelong at Metricon Stadium two weeks ago before taking the fight to Adelaide at Flinders University Stadium on Friday afternoon.
It was there the SUNS were able to hold off a surging Adelaide Crows unit to record a gritty seven-point win.
Senior Coach Stuart Dew said the most pleasing part of the win was seeing the team respond after losing the lead in the third quarter.
“We were challenged at different times and we’ve been talking about momentum and trying to get that back and how do we get that back,” Dew said post-match.
“Adelaide for a period there I think we're right on top but the defence held firm until the mids and forwards got going again.
“That alignment through the lines, at different times the backs were going well but once they all clicked together I think we were able to play it in our half.”
Dew also praised his team’s ability to get off to a fast start and restrict Adelaide’s scoring.
“We started well around the stoppages,” he said.
“We were able to play it in our half for a fair region of time in that first quarter.
“I think we had seven more scoring shots but we’ll work on that to make sure we take our opportunities.
“But our pressure we were quite happy with, we turned the ball over in our front half which is what we’ve been working on.
“I’m sure both teams would be happy with a close game before going into the season. It’s just good to get into those close games and practice.”
The SUNS have a two-week break before the season opener against Port Adelaide at Metricon Stadium, time which Dew will be using to narrow down his best 22.
“We’ve been talking about the depth of list and trying to create some pressure from within with selection which is what we’ll have,” he said.
“All our staff have done a really good job to make sure that we’ve got that coming into the season.
“Last year was reasonably tough but this year a lot of guys are putting their hand up.
“We’ve just got to make sure that maintains through the year and not just by availability but by performance.”
