McKenna blasts Suns form over AFL loss
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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.”
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.
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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- AFL, Gold Coast Suns, Guy McKenna
June 10th 2012 @ 6:01am
Kuruki said | June 10th 2012 @ 6:01am | Report comment
Drop Ablett. Great player but he is holding his team back. Here’s a hint get rid of Hunt and Ablett free up a huge amount of cash and buy some players who will make a difference.
June 10th 2012 @ 8:56am
Ian Whitchurch said | June 10th 2012 @ 8:56am | Report comment
Kuriki,
Learn how the salary cap works, mkay ?
Ablett has a long-term contract which will still count even if they try and offload him. Hunt’s salary is mostly off the books as special marketing allowances.
Therefore, what you’re suggesting wouldnt work.
Fortunatly, between free agency and the state legues, mature talent is easier to find than young talent, and thats without trading.
June 10th 2012 @ 11:12am
Lazy Ted Failyou said | June 10th 2012 @ 11:12am | Report comment
They need a new coach, pure and simple.
Does anyone seriously believe a Malthouse would get results like McKenna is getting?
Exactly the same thing goes for Carlton. You only have to look at the Crows to see what a difference better management does for an outfit.
June 10th 2012 @ 1:21pm
Tom of Darwin said | June 10th 2012 @ 1:21pm | Report comment
Kuriki – what a ridiculous comment, you clearly don’t watch footy or have any idea of the value of ablett. I can’t think of a better player to have that would contemplate going to the suns. Justify your answer or don’t bother with your trolling. The suns will be judged over three years, five years and ten years, not over individual losses.
June 10th 2012 @ 1:26pm
Tom of Darwin said | June 10th 2012 @ 1:26pm | Report comment
i do think they will not be successful but that is not the point, its just stupid to blame the best player.
June 10th 2012 @ 6:52am
Damo said | June 10th 2012 @ 6:52am | Report comment
Disgraceful. Crowds will drop as this team is not competitive. The novelty affect will start wearing thin too.
June 10th 2012 @ 8:00am
BigAl said | June 10th 2012 @ 8:00am | Report comment
…“totally unacceptable”. – ?? – you’d think he would be well used to it by now
June 10th 2012 @ 9:02am
Titus said | June 10th 2012 @ 9:02am | Report comment
Give them a break, they’re just wittle kids.
June 10th 2012 @ 9:40am
GCS said | June 10th 2012 @ 9:40am | Report comment
It was an absolute shocker, no doubt about that. It was the first time I noticed the crowd becoming disgruntled.
June 10th 2012 @ 9:50am
John Ascenzo said | June 10th 2012 @ 9:50am | Report comment
Obviously Ablett didn’t do enough. Hang on they did as bad when he equalled a league record. Maybe some of the other players have to put in as well.
June 10th 2012 @ 10:32am
The Cattery said | June 10th 2012 @ 10:32am | Report comment
Very close to a brand new low for the suns
June 10th 2012 @ 12:31pm
Brewski said | June 10th 2012 @ 12:31pm | Report comment
Coach says they are shielded by the media, which is probably the case, they will turn it around, Brown should go, but i am betting that they turn it around next week.
Young players with all the talent in the world still have to get in and get the ball, it’s a tough game, not enough inside midfielders perhaps.
June 10th 2012 @ 1:08pm
The Cattery said | June 10th 2012 @ 1:08pm | Report comment
That’s 13 consecutive losses at Carrara for the Suns – worse than anything the Bears managed when they first played there.
Well into their second season, and the suns are showing very little.
June 10th 2012 @ 2:07pm
GCS said | June 10th 2012 @ 2:07pm | Report comment
Cattery, you can’t compare the Suns to the Bears. The Bears were full of established players, so its a different kettle of fish. Missing Bock, Swallow and Harbrow has made it tougher for them, and they just don’t have the depth to cover them.
If they are in the same boat this time next year, then I will start being harsher, but I’m prepared to take a long term view.
June 10th 2012 @ 2:24pm
The Cattery said | June 10th 2012 @ 2:24pm | Report comment
GCS
The club took only 8 or 9 established players in their first season, and basically picked up no one in their second season – that’s the route they’ve taken – it looked like a mistake back then, and it has proven to be one.
It was obvious from the start that if 3 or 4 of those established players got injured, the suns were going to be in trouble – and that’s before we even get to the poor form of blokes like Brennan, Fraser and Brown.
Seriously – things are so dire, Hunt is in your top half of better players – that’s serious!!
ps – I’m a supporter of expansion to the gold coast – but the recruitment hasn’t worked out as well as it should have
June 10th 2012 @ 2:40pm
GCS said | June 10th 2012 @ 2:40pm | Report comment
I agree that they probably should have tried to pick up some established players in the second season, but maybe they were stung by the lack of input from some of the guys they got from the first season.
I still prefer this scenario compared to what the Bears had. At least there is hope that some of these 18, 19, 20 year olds can turn into good long term players. If they draft well over the next couple of years, then things can turn around pretty quickly.