Gold Coast has pledged to take full advantage of its 14-day break when the team travels to Melbourne take on St Kilda at Etihad Stadium this Sunday. 

At 5-2, the GC SUNS are flying high, and should be refreshed thanks to last week’s scheduled bye.

While many players headed back to their respective home states following the team’s sensational win over North Melbourne, others, including the likes of Harley Bennell and Michael Rischitelli, opted to remain on the Gold Coast to continue training and improve their fitness base.

While Queensland’s only top eight side is mentally fresher and physically better after the well-deserved break, the Saints have been dealt the unenviable task of backing up in six days’ time following last night’s loss to Carlton. 

With confidence amongst the playing group at a season-high following the victory over the Kangaroos, GC SUNS head fitness coach, Max Kennedy, is expecting the SUNS to back up their hard-running, rugged performance in the Docklands arena for the second consecutive match. 

“They’re in pretty good shape; a few sore boys after the North Melbourne game but generally they’re in pretty good shape,” Kennedy said in this week’s 2XU Recovery Report.

“The boys can’t wait to get going again, in particularly in the environment we find ourselves in of winning games of footy, so we can’t wait for the weekend.”

While the message to soak in some much-needed rest and recovery would have been driven into the team by high performance manager, Stephen Schwerdt, the fitness guru would have been conscious of the players ‘unfastening the seatbelt’.

But Kennedy said the players had made a united pact to not erase the tremendous inroads the club had made since day one of pre-season training, and was confident the players’ supreme conditioning would be on full display this weekend. 

 “It’s a thing that has been spoken of years in the AFL; what happens after the bye and I don’t think anyone really knows, but I think it’s just one of those areas where you have to prepare as well as you can and hope for the best.

“They are as well prepared as they can possibly be and are looking forward to the game on the weekend.”