Geelong is such a quality side and we have so much respect for the club and the way they play. We were obviously very excited to be able to win like we did last Thursday night. To keep a side like the Cats to five goals was unexpected and was the result of our pressure right across the ground. Certainly our back six or seven guys have improved their own performance in recent weeks, but in addition to that, our midfield have really got themselves going and our all-over ground pressure has increased. What was evident in last week’s win is that if the ball is being pressured going into our defence, it makes it easier for our defenders, which has an impact on the scoreboard.

We head off to the Gold Coast this weekend to take on a young and exciting Gold Coast outfit. In terms of their forward line, they have three really good talls in Tom Lynch, Sam Day and Charlie Dixon, who are all capable of taking some very good contested marks. Lynch is leading the competition for contested marks inside forward 50, so that’s an indication of how strong a player he is. We certainly have our work cut out for us in that respect, but then they also have a brigade of small talented forwards such as Brandon Matera, Harley Bennell, if he comes back into the side, and Aaron Hall. They’ve got these types of players running around who are very capable of picking up the crumbs at the tall forwards’ feet, so we certainly do have our work cut out this week.

The Suns also have a pretty handy player by the name of Gary Ablett, who is obviously one of the most damaging players in the competition. He is likely to play through the midfield and will press forward, so we will most likely use a number of players to curb his influence when he does push forward. Nick Smith has played on him before when he moves up forward and then we’ve got Dane Rampe who can play on that type of player as well, so we have a couple of options we can go to. Gaz is a great player, and we know that, so we’ll certainly put some effort into him this week.

Sunday’s match will also see one of our defenders, Heath Grundy, reach his 150th game. When I speak about Heath, he really goes hand-in-hand with Teddy Richards as they have both been the backbone of our defence for a number of years. For ‘Reg’ to notch up 150 games, which gives him life membership of the club, is a terrific effort. He came across as a forward and then went back, and since then has played his best football in defence. He’s been such a consistent player for us, and that does come down to his ability to always be able to train, and that’s what has held him in really good stead. He’s had good pre-seasons for a number of years and he rarely misses a training session during the year, which I think explains why he hardly misses a game. He’s been a durable player and certainly one we rely on heavily.

We enjoy going up to the Gold Coast and Metricon Stadium is a great venue to play on. Hopefully we can go up there this weekend and get the four points against the Suns, who have made significant improvements this season.