By Michael Whiting
Gold Coast SUNS defender Nathan Bock says he is out to redeem himself against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday night after "letting down" his teammates by missing last weekend's drubbing against Essendon with suspension.
Bock received a one-match ban for striking against Port Adelaide and was forced to watch Sunday's 139-point hammering from the sidelines.
He said the Queensland derby, the QClash, was the perfect match in which to redeem himself.
"Being suspended I let them down in a way," Bock said after a Wednesday morning recovery session.
"Not being part of it and letting them go through that pain, I partly felt responsible.
"But I think it's a great learning curve and hopefully the boys learnt a lot from that and won't let that happen ever again."
The GC SUNS were also missing experienced backman Campbell Brown through suspension against the Bombers, and their defence leaked a league-record 15 goals in the first quarter.
"We're a young group down back; it was a tough job for them Sunday, but hopefully I can provide some of that leadership and experience back this week."
Coming from Adelaide, home of the Crows-Power Showdown, Bock is no stranger to intrastate rivalries and said the Suns had moved on from the Essendon match and were up for their first clash against their Queensland neighbours.
He likened local derbies to a finals atmosphere and had no doubt the QClash would match that intensity.
"I think Brisbane have come out early in the piece, pre-season, and built this clash up. Obviously now it's a two-team state, so there'll be that rivalry for top dog, but I think it's great for football and for Queensland," he said.
"Having the mantle as best team in the state is the main thing.
"I think they've (Lions) been quite competitive and had a few unlucky losses so they're going to be fired up and ready to go and looking to get their first win on the board, and we're looking to stop them from doing that."
Bock said he had fully recovered from a knee injury sustained against Port Adelaide.
