After Saturday afternoon’s win over West Coast, the first ever in club history, belief and confidence in the playing group was high according to captain Steven May.

“That win instils a bit more belief into the boys,” May told injured swingman Sam Day, who took over SUNS TV on game day.

“It’s massive because you always want some reward for effort and the last couple of weeks, we’ve trained well, we’ve played some good patches and then we’ve lost and that’s so hard on the confidence, particularly for a young team.”

It was a frustrating game for all involved, with neither team able to stamp their authority on the game before a late goal from forward Peter Wright but Gold Coast in front.

With the game on the line, May was pleased with how the whole team responded in the last quarter, given the criticism aimed their way in recent time.

“We were able to not roll over and just lose. We found something and I’m extremely proud,” May said.

“I think the emergence of Jack Leslie and Jarrod Harbrow, he’s a veteran and he’s been great. And I think guys like Jesse Joyce and Kade Kolodjashnij today stood up.

It’s clear that coach Rodney Eade’s message is getting through to the playing group, with players standing up in the heat of battle against the Eagles.

“This week, everyone was able to play their role and Rocket preaches that. We need 22 blokes performing, not just a handful.”

After enjoying the win on the weekend, the focus will immediately shift to the Round 12 clash with Hawthorn at the MCG.

The two teams met earlier in the season, with the SUNS recording an 86-point victory. But that won’t have any bearing on how the SUNS will prepare this week, with the players excited to head to the home of football.

“Both teams have changed a lot since then. We did have a great win but I think it will be a great honour for the boys to play on the MCG, we don’t play a lot of games there.”