Gold Coast has a score to settle with Brisbane in QClash

GOLD Coast co-captain Steven May admits his team’s two losses to Brisbane last year scarred the Suns, and that it is time for redemption at the Gabba on Sunday.

Steven May trains ahead of the QClash. Picture: Richard Gosling

GOLD Coast co-captain Steven May admits his team’s two losses to Brisbane last year scarred the Suns, and that it is time for redemption at the Gabba on Sunday.

The Lions won both QClash encounters in 2017 with a narrow two-point victory at Metricon Stadium in Round 1 followed by a 58-point thumping at the Gabba in Round 21.

The derby disasters completed a season of woe for the Suns who finished the home-and-away campaign with eight-straight defeats.

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After being 5-6 at the halfway mark of the season, the Gold Coast lost 10 of their last 11 outings to finish 17th on the ladder and trigger widespread change throughout the organisation.

Despite the host of new faces at the club, the one thing that has not changed is the desire to beat Brisbane.

But it has been a while.

The last time the Gold Coast were able to get their hands on the QClash trophy was after a 26-point win in Round 16, 2016 at Metricon Stadium.

Steven May says losing to Brisbane last season hurt the Suns. Picture: AAP

Their most recent win at the Gabba goes back to Round 19, 2015.

“There’s been a long time between wins over the Lions so them taking both games last year, there’s a bit of sting in that,’’ May said.

“There’s been a lot of changes with our list and the coaches but it’s always a big game for our footy club.

“Being a QClash, it will be a physical game so we’ve done a lot of contested stuff at training – it’s been red-hot.

“We had a bad loss last week and so did Brisbane so both teams are going to be fired-up and treating this as a must-win game.’’

The Gold Coast started 2018 with promising wins over North Melbourne and Carlton but back-to-back losses to Fremantle and West Coast in Perth killed any momentum the well-travelled Suns built-up.

May said the Suns went away from the contested brand of football they want to be known for under new senior coach Stuart Dew.

“We know we can play the right way. We trained it during the pre-season and we did it in the first two rounds. Everything we have spoken about this week, we’ve done,’’ he said.

“It’s not new, it’s not foreign and we need to get back to that mindset we had.

“This is a great chance for us to respond after two bad losses and get back to that brand that we are trying to build.’’

Originally published as Gold Coast has a score to settle with Brisbane in QClash