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Suns bullish about AFL hopes heading west

3 minute read

Gold Coast defender Jack Lukosius says the Suns have a great opportunity to kickstart a charge for a maiden AFL finals spot against wounded Fremantle in Perth.

JACK LUKOSIUS.
JACK LUKOSIUS. Picture: Albert Perez/Getty Images

Saturday's match in Western Australia represents a golden opportunity for Gold Coast to kickstart a second-half season push for a maiden AFL finals berth, according to milestone man Jack Lukosius.

The Suns have won just one of 15 games in Perth - a 26-point victory over Fremantle in round two, 2016.

They will not have a better chance to add to that tally than against a wounded Dockers outfit at Optus Stadium this weekend in what will be Lukosius's 50th AFL match.

Fremantle will be without captain Nat Fyfe after his shoulder dislocation against the Western Bulldogs, joining a list of outs that includes Brennan Cox (hamstring), Matt Taberner (ankle), Stephen Hill (hamstring) and suspended Nathan Wilson.

In contrast Gold Coast have named former No.1 draft pick Matt Rowell and defender Jack Bowes to return from injury in their team.

The Suns have never made finals since joining the competition in 2011 and are a long shot this year given they sit 13th with just four wins but a victory over the Dockers would close them to within two games of eighth-placed Richmond.

Lukosius says a top-eight spot is still very much on his team's radar.

"You have to dream for it," he told AAP.

"We expect to win this week ... hopefully that follows on throughout the rest of the season.

"We know that we're good enough and we've got full belief that if we play the way we want to play we're every chance to have a crack at finals."

Gold Coast's best shot at finals in the past was the 2014 campaign when the team sat inside the top eight after 16 rounds but faded to finish 12th.

Fadeouts in the second half of seasons have become something of a trend for the Suns but Lukosius dismissed the notion that was a psychological issue for the club.

"Lots of our group is young and we're only going to get better as we go on," he said.

"The way we finished our last two games before the bye, we're in a really good position.

"We've got blokes coming back, we're pretty fresh.

"Hopefully it sets us up well and, yeah, we're not too worried about about the past - we're more worried about the future."

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