Gold Coast have shown glimpses of their best in recent weeks, but it’s clear the playing group is ready to turn that into a consistent four-quarter effort.

For Academy product Brayden Crossley, he’s confident the SUNS can more than match it when they take on Essendon on Saturday night.

“We’ve shown over the past few weeks, we’ve played in patches and those patches have been really good,” Crossley told the media on Friday.

“We feel that if we can have a consistent go at it and turn it into four quarters then we can really match it with the best teams. 

“We’re pretty positive that we’re going to do that this week and our best footy is going to stack up against theirs.”

Set to play his sixth game of the year, the 18-year-old forms part of a young core of players who have brought energy and enthusiasm to the group.

Crossley has seen how hard the whole squad has been working on the training track and is keen to see that translate into results on the footy field.

“We’ve really been focusing on training and making sure we’re finishing hard there,” he said.

“Things will eventually turn, so we’re just keeping on training hard and we feel like we’re going to run a game out and then play some consistent footy really soon.”

Saturday marks a historic day for the SUNS, with Gold Coast’s women’s team taking on the Brisbane Lions in the final game of the Winter Series before the AFL game against the Bombers.

Having been part of the club for a number of years through his involvement with the Academy, Crossley understands the importance of the milestone.

“Obviously it’s huge for the club having the women’s team playing, especially because they get to showcase their skills on Metricon Stadium.”

“It’s really exciting to have them out there and hopefully they can get a win as well to set the tone for us.”

The Women’s program has been embraced by the whole club and making sure they have been fully integrated has been a big focus.

From mixed training sessions to use of the facilities and other resources, the women’s team has been welcomed with open arms.

“They had a session a couple of weeks ago and we all got around them…we made it a really welcome environment.

“We’re trying to make this club a have a big family feel...and I feel like they are definitely part of the club now.”