SUNS AFLW Senior Coach David Lake isn’t going to let his team drop their heads after a challenging start to the 2021 NAB AFLW season.
The SUNS are yet to claim the four points after a wet weather slog against GWS in Round 3, but Lake pointed to the second-half fightback against the Giants as a sign the team wasn’t giving up anytime soon.
“I thought we started a little bit slow - we should have been getting inside 30 and getting the footy in a bit further,” Lake said post-match.
“We just got to the top of 50 and GWS took advantage of that.
“We grew in that area but it was too late by then, they kicked the score they ultimately won with.
“We probably caused all our problems early and then were on the back foot most of the game.”
Despite the team’s performance, Lake also was quick to praise the efforts of his youngest players in their third AFLW match.
“Some of our young players found some real energy in the game as they grow every week in Lucy Single, Daisy D’Arcy and Maddi Levi.
“They continue to improve every quarter they play and we got progress in the second half of the game from them.
“Our older players (Lauren) Ahrens, (Jamie) Stanton and (Alison) Drennan - they all stood up for us.”
Looking ahead, the SUNS will take on Fremantle in Round 4 at Fremantle Oval.
Lake said the team couldn’t afford to get caught up in the results to start the season and instead had to continue to move forward.
“You can dwell but they’ve been played and we have to play what's in front of us.
“Hopefully we get a better start and we learn from our mistakes.
“Particularly the older players, helping the younger players - we need to pull that together and go again.”