GOLD Coast midfielder Dion Prestia has urged the Suns to take the game on from the start against Geelong on Saturday at Metricon Stadium.
Prestia was magnificent with 38 possessions in last Saturday’s three-point loss to West Coast but was left to lament a sluggish start, especially in the middle of the ground.
"We knew they had a dominant ruckman so it was just us being too reactive in there," Prestia told AFL.com.au.
"We were too worried about what (Matt) Priddis was doing and where (Nic) Naitanui was going to tap it.
"In the second half we just decided to go on the front foot, take them on and be more aggressive in there and it turned for us.
"We started to dictate terms there in the middle and it barely got in West Coast's forward line at all in the last quarter.
"But full credit to West Coast, they played four good quarters, we only played one."
The Suns still lost the centre clearances 21-9 for the match, a statistic coach Guy McKenna said was pivotal to the outcome.
Prestia said their run of six unanswered goals in the last term had shown players how they need to approach the upcoming game against the Cats.
"We've got to show up at the start of the game instead of at three-quarter time," he said.
"It's a good challenge and going from our last quarter (against the Eagles) we are pretty confident going into Geelong at home.
"We've got to get off to a good start at home and get the home fans involved and get on the front foot.
"It's just about being able to play four quarters as well."
