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McKenna blasts Suns form over AFL loss

9th June, 2012
27

Gold Coast Suns coach Guy McKenna has blasted his side after their 95-point AFL loss to St Kilda on Saturday night, labelling their performance “totally unacceptable”.

McKenna said he believed his charges “gave it in” during their 21.18 (144) to 7.7 (49) thrashing at the hands of the Saints at Metricon Stadium.

McKenna was scathing in his review of his team’s current form after the match which followed last week’s drubbing by Collingwood.

“Probably only three fellas could have come off the ground and held their head high,” McKenna said.

“We spoke about effort and fight and standing our ground tonight, and that was totally unacceptable.”

McKenna said he was disappointed in the side’s performance; particularly their fading in the second quarter as the Saints easily began to run away with the contest leading into halftime.

“That final period of 10 to 15 minutes before halftime it certainly looked like they gave it in, they turned their toes up.”

When asked if that was the first time he had seen that happen, McKenna answered: “I reckon with this group, yeah.”

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McKenna also stated that he would love to pick up his players and move them to Melbourne so they could get a full grasp of the criticism aimed in their direction.

“I think up here we get sheltered by the media and the players have got to really start to realise that we’re in this competition and it’s full of men, and we’ve got to stop turning up and performing like that, that’s for sure.

“There comes a time when enough’s enough. We need to stand up for ourselves.

“If anything we stand up for ourself rather than actually giving to the team, and that’s the issue we’ve got to deal with and deal with quickly.”

McKenna questioned whether his team had the character to show the necessary fight to be competitive in the AFL.

“We’ve got to bring out their individual character so it matches and marries our team character, and as I said, we were lacking in that department.”

The Suns – who at one stage in the second quarter pulled back to within a goal of the Saints after trailing by 18 at the first change – could not keep up once the Saints found their groove in the second half.

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The Saints return to the top eight with the victory, with captain Nick Riewoldt celebrating his 500th career goal with a seven-goal haul for the match.

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