‘Inaccurate’: Anderson says Suns aligned despite slump
Roger Vaughan |
Noah Anderson has denied talk of a disconnect at Gold Coast as they try to end their five-game AFL losing streak.
All parts of the Suns’ game have been reviewed ahead of Saturday’s crucial home game against Collingwood, who are half a game above them in the middle of the ladder.
The Suns’ dramatic slump has inevitably led to media speculation about what is going wrong.
“Obviously, I saw reports that there was a disconnect between the playing group and the coaches. But I think it was inaccurate,” the Suns captain said on Tuesday.
“There’s frustration. If you ask any workplace or any sporting club around the world, if you’re falling short of expectation there’s going to be frustration.
“We worked through that, we spoke about it and I feel like as a club, we’re on such a good page. We’re really aligned to move forward.”
Anderson also defended big-name recruit and fellow onballer Christian Petracca.
“He’s doing a really good job. He’s brought amazing energy, and a real passion and drive to get us better, and I think he’s doing that,” Anderson said.
“I don’t think he’s been short of the mark. As a midfield group, we’ve been below-par this year and that’s not because he’s come in, at all.
“We all need to lift around him, to help him out as well.”
Players such as Anderson’s good friend Ben King and Bailey Humphrey are coming out of contract at the end of the season, adding to the conjecture around the Suns.
“We’ve had some good discussions, but he’s doing what he needs to do to get to a decision,” Anderson said of King.
Anderson also noted there were plenty of speculation last year around Matt Rowell, who ultimately re-signed and won the Brownlow Medal.
“Every football club has to deal with outside noise. We dealt with it pretty closely, obviously, with Rowelly last year,” he said.
“This is all part of our experience – we need to grow as a group and understand that they’re still really committed to our club for this year.
‘That’s all we can handle. It’s my role as captain … to make this a place where they want to stay.”
Gold Coast won their first final last year and Anderson said their own expecations were big heading into this season.
But they only managed to kick three goals last weekend in the loss to Fremantle.
“We’ve had a pretty tough month and a pretty tough year so far. But I truly believe we’re not that far away,” Anderson said.
“We’re not shifting blame, it’s on us to perform. We’re coming up short, but I’m pretty confident we’re going to get a result pretty quickly.”
AAP