SUNS co-captain Jarrod Witts knows his team has what it takes to correct a mid-season form dip this Thursday against St Kilda.

After starting the season with four wins from seven games, the SUNS have had two losses in games where there has been an opportunity to win, but Witts believes it’s as much a mentality solution as it is the performance on the field.

“We’d hope we’ve put ourselves in a position through the hard work over the last few years and going again last pre-season that we can win every game,” Witts told SUNS Media.

“We need everyone believing that we can win every game because we are good enough.

“We’ve just got to find a way to get ourselves up each week and put out the performances that we know our identity stands up to.”

The identity Witts mentions is the hard-running, high-pressure brand of football the SUNS worked so hard to establish in the opening half of the season.

That was evident in Sunday’s match against the Giants, however Witts pointed to the fact the SUNS were still able to keep up with GWS in scoring shots despite being well below their best.

But the squandering of opportunities inside 50 was ultimately too costly, which is something that has been spoken about in the review.

“I think there were some pretty key trends in the game that we didn’t live up to in what our identity and brand is as a footy club,” Witts said.

“It’s mainly to do with our contest and contested ball so I think there’s a pretty simple focus for us moving forward.

“We definitely had our opportunities but we were up against a quality team and I think when you get good looks you’ve got to obviously take advantage of it and put some scoreboard pressure on.

“But I think we’re encouraged by the fact that we did have a good look at a few and our scoring shots were one off them so we’ve got to make the most of our opportunities as well.”

The SUNS had a luxury of a 10-day break heading into the Giants match, but will now need to adjust to the reality of four-day breaks during the upcoming fixture crunch.

Witts said it was something the club had embraced as it prepares for its next three games in the space of 12 days.

“I’m really proud of the way the team and the club has been handling these challenges,” he said.

“This is just another one for us that we’re ready to tackle.

“We’ve got a young list who so far have been pulling up really well from games. So nothing changes for us, we’ll just get on with it.” 

The SUNS take on St Kilda in Round 10 on Thursday night at 8:10pm at Metricon Stadium.