They might have clinched the Premiership points when they battled it out at Metricon Stadium the last time the two AFL rivals met, but Guy McKenna says his Gold Coasters are no guarantee to run over the top of Carlton for a consecutive time, with the Navy Blues building towards a new era of success under the new Mick Malthouse regime.
“Like Richmond up in Cairns, there are no certainties in football,” McKenna told goldcoastfc.com.au.
“We have some good form going in against them but it was only one game – they’ve got a new coach, different systems and different players.”
“Fortunately for us though we’ll be taking some confidence going in to the game after our win against the Pies last weekend.”
Brownlow Medallist Chris Judd, Marc Murphy, Kade Simpson and former No.1 picks Bryce Gibbs and Matthew Krezuer are among the big names headlining Malthouse’s potent midfield unit.
“They’ve certainly got a seasoned midfield, Simpson – he’s the one that breaks lines and covers some ground with his ball use and run.
“Walker has been used more down back this year and they’ve got a handy group of small forwards that kicked 6-8 goals between on the weekend.
“Chris Judd and Marc Murphy lead by example and Gibbs as well, they’ve got a host of superstars in the middle and then you throw Krezuer in there as well… so we’re going to have to be at our best to knock them over on Saturday.”
Another big scalp is certainly in the Gold Coast’s sights, and there’s little that can be said to convince the playing group otherwise, with the team well and truly believing they could cause an upset for the second week in a row.
However the senior coach knows he’ll have to rely on much more than just a previous victory over the Blues to ensure his side comes ready to compete.
“Carlton is another great opportunity for us to knock off another powerhouse side and while we got the result last year, it by no means makes us assume we’re going to beat Carlton again this year,” he said.
“(But) if the boys can compete hard enough for long enough, then we give ourselves a chance of beating any side in the competition.
“We were able to do that against Collingwood, and if we can do the same against Carlton, then we give ourselves a chance to do that again this weekend.”
