If Freo bleeds, then Suns can kill
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna says his young side will go into tomorrow’s game against Fremantle with a time-honoured approach: if it bleeds, you can kill it.
The Dockers are raging favourites to record their second win of the season when the two sides meet at Patersons Stadium tomorrow afternoon after dismantling perennial finalists Collingwood in round one.
But the Suns, coming off an upset win over Richmond in round one, aren’t running scared of the early premiership favourites.
Asked if there any weaknesses in the Dockers’ gameplan he could look to exploit, McKenna was blunt in his assessment.
“None that I can think of, but they’re not perfect,” he said.
“Use all the clichés like Leigh Matthews has done before, ‘if it bleeds you can kill it’ sorts of things.
“Maybe some of their players, maybe some of their fans have already locked away four points, maybe they’re not going to take us seriously, I don’t know, I don’t know how they think.
“All we can control is how hard we hit in at the football and how well we use it going forward and how quickly we use it going forward. “
Having never beaten the Dockers or won a game at Patersons Stadium, McKenna said tomorrow’s clash be a good indication of where his side is at.
“We like to have the mindset that we're going to go out and test Fremantle,” he said.
“We understand they played off in a grand final last year and set the scene for the way they want to play this year.
“Predictable coach, predictable team - hard, well disciplined. We know what we're going to get.
“So it's not for us to be on the back foot and wait for that test, it's for us to get out on the front foot and test them.
“I think we've got the cattle to do so.”
Tasmanian Kade Kolodjashnij will debut for the Suns against Fremantle after being taken at pick no.5 in last year’s national draft.
The 18-year-old said after watching the Dockers play off against Hawthorn, the team he grew up supporting, in last year’s grand final he was all the more excited to debut against them.
“I’m just really looking forward to it, seeing where I stand with the best team in the comp,” he said.
“I can’t wait to get out with the boys for the first time, run out onto the ground.”
