There is a saying that is used in football circles which suggests ‘a week is a long time in football’.
How true that proved up in Cairns when our reserves were beaten by 10 goals by Northern Territory Thunder after beating Sydney so well last week.
In also rang true when our senior team turned a poor loss last week into an inspirational victory over Richmond.
This game requires such consistent mental and physical preparation and readiness and our young squad is rapidly discovering this.
There were obvious signs early in the game against the NT that the Thunder players were hungrier than GC SUNS players for the contest.
Add to this Steven May pulling out of the game shortly before the first bounce and both Michael Coad and Daniel Gorringe sustaining game-ending injuries within the first ten minutes and all of a sudden things were looking ugly.
After slipping to a six-goal deficit at half time, the NT Thunder continued to work us over through relentless pressure and went on to show they are a real contender for the title in the NEAFL Northern Conference.
The best news to come out of the game from a Gold Coast SUNS perspective was the performance of Tom Hickey.
An ex-Volleyball player turned ruckman, Hickey has taken remarkable steps in developing into an AFL player.
He is very much a student of the game, very coachable and driven to do the work required to improve continually.
A left-footed ruckman, his tap work at stoppages is a feature of his game and he has Inspector Gadget arms that took about a dozen marks in the game on the weekend. To top this off he kicked two terrific goals.
The three other players we thought deserved a mention were Luke Russell, Jeremy Taylor and young top-up player Peter Yagmoor.
Taylor was injured in pre-season and didn’t get onto the field until four weeks ago. He is readying himself for a debut in the seniors and will most likely play off half back when that happens. A great athlete, he is disciplined and can play on small and tall forwards.
We will be back at Metricon Stadium this week against the Brisbane Lions reserves starting at 3pm before the Collingwood game. Look forward to seeing heaps of red and gold early on Saturday.
Appreciate your support.
GO SUNS!
Shaun Hart
