Gold Coast SUNS senior coach Guy McKenna says his side can take away enormous confidence from their 41-point loss to the Sydney Swans, knowing they came to compete against the reigning AFL premiers from the first bounce.

The team got off to a flying start against the AFL powerhouse, taking early control of the contest by putting the home side under constant pressure in their defensive half.  

But while the class and experience of the veteran Swans proved too much for the young and talented Gold Coast side, McKenna said his coaching staff had taken plenty of positives from the interstate clash.

“There were certainly some pleasing signs… (we were) only 10 points down a minute before three quarter time, we just needed a bit of luck to go our way,” said McKenna.

“But in saying that, I thought Sydney’s pressure was just fantastic and caused us to make some easy turnovers – and if you make a mistake against Sydney they’re going to make you pay.”

With contested possession being one of the side’s main focus over the summer, McKenna was pleased the team matched the same level of intensity against a Swans side that has patented their game on winning the contested football.

“I thought our work inside, to be able to compete for the ball, was very good,” McKenna said.

“I think they beat us by two (in contested possession) so nothing in the scheme of things… so for a side going into their third season against the premiers I thought we ticked that box.”

After shedding more than 9kgs over the summer, Karmichael Hunt showed he was more than capable of playing a shut-down role on All-Australian midfielder Josh Kennedy – keeping the elite 24-year-old to just 11 disposals leading into half-time.

“I thought he was influential when he had to be… and up until 3 quarter time had had done a pretty good job on Josh Kennedy,” McKenna said.

“I’ve seen Josh do a lot more damage in three quarters of football.”

After a winless start to the 2013 AFL Season, the GC SUNS are expecting to face a desperate Brisbane Lions in the first QCLASH match for 2013 this Saturday night at Metricon Stadium.

But McKenna is confident his game-plan will stand tall against their enemies north of the M1 highway.

“We just need to consistently provide that (contested football) and if we do that then we give ourselves the best chance of winning like we did against St. Kilda.”