It may be a frightening prospect but Gold Coast Suns coach Guy McKenna believed an injury to superstar captain Gary Ablett would provide a welcome “wake-up call” for his underperforming side.
Ablett will undergo scans on his knee that he appeared to hyperextend in a collision with dogged tagger Andrew Raines late in the Suns’ 65-point AFL loss to arch rivals Brisbane Lions at the Gabba on Saturday night.
However, the Suns were quick to play down the injury after Ablett was seen walking along the boundary line near fulltime despite initially requiring assistance from the field.
McKenna said Ablett had been cleared of “structural damage” – not that much could cheer him up after his side were blown away 10 goals to one in the second half.
McKenna would be keeping his fingers crossed Ablett can back up against North Melbourne next Saturday night at Etihad Stadium after his 33 weekend touches followed three straight 40-plus disposal games.
But McKenna said his young side could no longer keep pinning their hopes on the Brownlow Medallist – and even suggested an Ablett injury may help them step up.
“From a coaching point of view, where we’re at it might be a wake-up call,” McKenna said of an Ablett injury.
“We just can’t keep riding on the coat-tails of Gaz.
“Some other boys need to start to roll their sleeves up and get their hands dirty.
“From a coaching point of view, we don’t wish injuries on any players but the players around him might hopefully grow up a bit quicker because that’s what we need.”
At times, McKenna appeared to be seething at the post-match press conference after his side backed up from an encouraging 17-point loss to Essendon with yet another thumping.
But he denied he was angry.
“Not yet (but) it’s not far off,” McKenna said.
“I’m not frustrated yet.
“To fall away like we did in the second half (I am) probably disappointed, more than frustrated, with the effort in the second half.
“It’s just a mindset. We can get them bigger, we can get them faster, but it’s a matter of them concentrating for longer.
“That’s a challenge with such a young side.”
The Suns only trailed the Lions by eight points at halftime before Jonathan Brown inspired the home side by grabbing a little slice of history.
Brown’s second goal of the third term marked No.500 for the former Coleman Medallist, becoming only the fourth player in 126 years of combined Fitzroy-Brisbane Lions history to achieve the feat behind Alastair Lynch (633), Jack Moriarty (626) and Bernie Quinlan (576).
He kicked three in all, combining well up front with Aaron Cornelius (four goals, 10 marks).
Lions young gun Tom Rockliff (36 touches) received the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for best on ground.