“They start well and fade away, so I think we have a great opportunity against the Kangaroos tomorrow night.
If we match them early then the doubt will creep up on them, they’ve shown their inability to sustain games… we did that last week but the Kangaroos can be criticised for not doing that this season which ultimately has cost them game,” McKenna said.
With the Kangaroo’s having lost half of their matches this season with a scoreboard differential under two goals, McKenna feels the growing confidence amongst his playing group would smell blood against Brad Scott’s mentally-fragile players if they failed to turn up the heat against the Gold Coasters.
“Our message will be to start hard against them and try and take them on,” he said.
But after their punishing 68-point victory over St. Kilda, McKenna is fully aware the AFL’s third ranked side for goal-scoring can flick the switch around goals at any given point.
“They’ve been able to belt some sides and fall short against some of the best sides,” he said.
“We’re certainly under no illusions that there a quality AFL side.”
It’s evident McKenna’s young brigade of emerging stars no longer shy away from having to bash and crash against some of the competition’s biggest bodies, after the playing group well and truly held their won against premiership contenders Hawthorn and Geelong on foreign territory.
“It gives us great belief knowing the players are beginning to get excited about where we are heading and the structures that are in place,” McKenna said.
“Dion Prestia came out and said we don’t fear the opposition anymore, and if we start to get those winning results, then they’ll begin to further believe that.”
With more than 13,000 fans expected to flood into the Gates on Saturday, McKenna said he hoped his side would build on their impressive performances when they ran out on their home turf tomorrow night.
“It’s our home game and we’re playing in front of our supporters so we have to play the same style of football we want to display from the first bounce to the last, and ultimately if we’re able to do that then we give ourselves the chance to compete for longer and win out more games.”
