SUNS utility Chris Burgess says the back-to-back wins on the road is simply reward for hard-work and effort.

The SUNS returned from a short stay in Victoria with two important victories over finals contenders in Richmond and GWS, putting in showings they’ve been working towards all season.

“We’ve been training really well for the last month and just to put all of that work into play and to get the results have been great,” Burgess said.

“We’re starting to play the brand of footy we’ve wanted to play; it’s just real hard-to-play footy and that’s helped us get those wins.”

In both matches, Gold Coast found themselves trailing on the scoreboard with time of the essence in the final term but dug deep and found a way to win.

It highlighted a key area in the SUNS development throughout the course of the 2021 campaign having fallen short from winnable positions on a number of occasions early in the season.

“In the first couple of games this year we’ve been in front and lost. We’ve been working hard on our game plan, what to do when we’re up with a couple of minutes to go and that’s obviously paying off,” Burgess continued.

The absence of the SUNS noted ruckmen has seen the 25-year-old take on primary ruck duties in recent weeks, most notably having 38 hitouts to go with 17 disposals and a goal against experienced GWS ruckman Shane Mumford.

“I’m enjoying the ruck. My aim is just to compete and make it predictable for the midfielders – they’ve been huge for me, the communication, telling what they need from me,” Burgess added.

“At the moment it’s working so we’ll keep going with it.”

Burgess was full of praise for defenders Charlie Ballard and Jack Bowes who led the way with 15 and 12 intercept possessions apiece on Sunday and stood tall in the face of a late onslaught from the Giants, making several key late contributions.

“Chuck has really stepped up into his role and you can see how much confidence he has now, particularly with his marking. Everyone trusts that when the ball is in his area that he’ll either mark or spoil it,” he added.

“Bowesy reads the ball so well, they’ve both been huge for us. You saw in that last quarter they took a lot of marks, spoiled a lot of balls and probably saved the game for us in the end.”