Attention has turned quickly to regrouping ahead of a crucial Friday night clash at Metricon Stadium for the SUNS AFLW squad.

The SUNS were beaten by premiership contenders Melbourne on Saturday night, but have little time to dwell on the result with a must-win task against Carlton awaiting on the back of a six-day turnaround.

With two rounds remaining in the regular season, the SUNS aren’t concerning themselves with anything other than getting the job done against the Blues.

“There are lots of combinations that will be thrown around. The most important thing for us is to get our preparation right to play Carlton on a six-day turnaround at Metricon,” Head Coach Cameron Joyce said.

“That’s the priority for us, to get going again back on Metricon against another team from Melbourne.”

Heading into the game with a focus on starting strong out of the blocks, the SUNS tussled with the Demons throughout the opening stages but weren’t able to reap the scoreboard rewards with the visitors kicking the game’s first four majors.

The start will once again be crucial against the Blues who also kicked the first four goals in Round 8 before being overrun by Richmond.

“They got us a bit on the outside. We put some pressure on early and couldn’t get the reward to get an ascendancy and they made us pay late in quarters,” Joyce added.

“We didn’t get the ball forward anywhere near as much as we’d have liked. We’ll work on that and also being compliant in some situations late in quarters that don’t end up costing goals over the course of the night.”

Thrown into the midfield after Ellie Hampson was a late out, Lucy Single caught the eyes of SUNS fans, voted as the Tribal Sport Player of the Round from 17 disposals to go with four tackles and clearances apiece.

Get your tickets for Friday’s night clash against Carlton here. Gates open at 6pm before a 6.40pm opening bounce.