By Michael Whiting
Gold Coast half-forward Danny Stanley is confident of keeping his uninterrupted season intact against St Kilda after recovering from a back complaint he carried into Saturday's loss against Collingwood.
Stanley felt a twinge in his lower back in the final training session before the Magpies match, and worked relentlessly over the final 24 hours to be available to play his former club.
After being one of the GC SUNS best in the 54-point loss, 'Bull' has recovered strongly and said he would be right to play St Kilda at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
Along with Jared Brennan and Jarrod Harbrow, he is the only Gold Coast SUNS player to line up in all 16 matches this season.
"I pulled up better than expected," Stanley said at Gold Coast SUNS recovery session at Kurrawa Beach on Monday afternoon.
"The next morning, with the painkillers I'd had, I was expecting a big whack but surprisingly it's pulled up really well and feels good at the moment.
"I'll probably just offload weights during the week and have a lighter week and make sure it's 100 per cent going into St Kilda."
Stanley said he sustained the injury while doing some extra skills work with assistant coach Shane O'Bree last Friday.
He said his back required a lot of physio, heat packs and rest in the lead-up to playing Collingwood.
"Once I got out there and started running around it was all good," he said.
"I had a few painkillers which helped … and the adrenaline of playing against your old team got me through."
Stanley said the second half of Saturday night's loss - where the GC SUNS were level with Collingwood - was encouraging and something positive they could take into the Saints match.
"I watched their game against Adelaide and they were very impressive," he said of the Saints.
"Keeping a team to three goals is telling you something.
"We've got to be at our best and we're starting to play our best footy so it'll be a good test. They've played the last two grand finals so it'll be another big test and a big month of footy having Collingwood, St Kilda and Geelong. Hopefully we can get a win at home."
