Suns keeping goal simple for QClash
Tigers just have to recover bite Ablett close to a return
TOUK Miller says the Suns’ recent travel has nothing to do with their two losses in Perth as Gold Coast look to bounce back at what is their closest thing to a home ground at the Gabba.
Gold Coast started the season with two wins but are now 2-2 after falling short against both Fremantle and West Coast.
The Suns have visited Cairns, Melbourne and Perth over the first four rounds but Miller said their hectic travelling schedule due to the Commonwealth Games wasn’t to blame for their decrease in effort in Western Australia.
“That’s definitely not case,” Miller said.
“We were as well prepared as we had been for a game. We trained well during the week and had a good solid game plan but just didn’t execute.
“The travel has got nothing to do with it.
“The more you travel the more you get closer with teammates.
“We couldn’t be happier with how we are handling it.
“We are still 2-2; it’s not the end of the world.
“We knew this year was coming so we prepared as best we could to make sure we ride every bump. When things come at you, you have to move past them.”
Gold Coast didn’t need any tapes to review their loss to the Eagles last Saturday.
Miller revealed the team’s inner sanctum gathered in the moments straight after the defeat, looked each other in the the LABRADOR Tigers senior coach Aaron Shattock will resist the urge to shake things up in 2018 in a bid to chase their third premiership in four years.
Shattock said a lack of killer instinct, not their footy style, crippled Labrador’s charge at a third straight flag last season.
The club went through the 16 rounds of the regular season unbeaten in 2017 only to fall to Palm Beach-Currumbin in the grand final.
eye and delivered what was needed before moving on.
“It was just between the playing group, the people that were there and the coaches,” Miller said.
“We reviewed each other. It was more of a personal thing and between the four walls and the people that were playing we tried to make it concise on the feedback we were giving.”
Gold Coast will be just 72km from their Metricon base when they play a winless Brisbane on Sunday.
Miller said the game plan was simple going into this weekend’s 15th QClash.
“We need to go back to what we were doing the first two rounds – the pressure, the contest, things we pride ourselves on – to take into this week.
“We had something like four tackles to quarter-time, which was unacceptable.
“Anyone in-house will tell you we’ve got a grudge against Brisbane.
“They knocked us off twice last year, so we’ve got a bit to prove going into this game.”
Shattock said two premierships in the previous seasons may have cost the group the hunger needed to go to another level when it mattered.
“Losing only makes them more hungry,” Shattock said.
“(Palm Beach Currumbin) looked a lot hungrier than we did. It’s not having a go at our guys but it’s probably human nature.
“Very rarely do you get three or four years out of the same group to get the motivation to keep going.”
Shattock said he was willing to evolve as the game changes but believed the side’s high pressure and contested style could bring them another flag.
“The game evolves as seasons go on and I’m not a big believer in this is how we want to play,” Shattock said.
“The game plan will be similar because 75 per cent of the list is similar. We didn’t get beaten on our game plan last year, we got beaten on personnel and we were running on empty.
“We lacked that killer instinct.”
Labrador’s best midfielder Billy Hicks headlines a list of eight players in doubt to play in their season opener against Surfers Paradise at Sir Bruce Small Park on Saturday due to injury.
“We are struggling a bit with injury at the moment,” Shattock said. “I wouldn’t say it’s an injury crisis. We have been a little unsettled and haven’t found our groove yet.” GEELONG star Gary Ablett is edging towards an AFL return from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him since Round 3.
The Cats refuse to put a definitive time frame on the twotime Brownlow Medallist’s comeback but they issued a progress report yesterday.
“Gary’s going well ... (he) ran again today and his running sessions have been completed pretty well,” physiotherapist Mark Young said.
“He’ll join in football later this week and from there he shouldn’t be too far away.”