By Michael Whiting

For the first time in their inaugural season, Gold Coast SUNS lines up on Saturday night against a team it has the wood over.

And assistant coach Shane O'Bree expects it to fill the young side with confidence.

Of the GC SUNS three wins against Port Adelaide, Brisbane Lions and Richmond, the Lions will be the first time Gold Coast has had another crack at a conquered opponent.

And with a 1-0 record and a fit Gary Ablett, O'Bree said the GCSUNS could attack the Lions with some expectation.

"Every week you go in expecting to win a game of football but I think the guys got a lot of confidence out of playing Brisbane earlier in the year," he said.

"I wouldn't expect the boys to find any more, but just that belief and confidence from knowing you've beaten a team earlier in the year, and you draw a lot from that."

O'Bree is in his first season as an assistant coach after retiring from Collingwood last season and said the Lions had been really competitive all season.

He said their inability to put teams away in fourth quarters was symptomatic of most young teams and something the GC SUNS would also have to deal with at some stage.

"It's going to be a good challenge all over the ground I think," O'Bree said.

"They've got a few blokes out in their backline and our forward line is pretty young, so it'll be a good challenge for them.

"Through the midfield they've got [Simon Black] and Lukey Power and [Jack] Redden's in good form, [Tom] Rockliff's in good form, so it's good for our young midfielders to play against them when they're in good form."

Ablett got through the GC SUNS final training session this morning and will line up against the Lions after missing against Geelong last week with a hamstring niggle.

O'Bree said Gold Coast was hoping to repeat its round seven opening against its northern rivals, where they jumped from the blocks to a big early lead and were able to hang on.

"I wouldn't say it was a lack of intensity from the Lions, I thought our guys came out to play and we wanted a really good start. It's like every week, every team wants to get a good start so that's what we'll focus on tomorrow night," he said.