GOLD Coast coach Guy McKenna says the brilliant football the Suns produced in the final term against West Coast is good enough to beat Geelong next weekend.
The Suns face the Cats at Metricon Stadium on Saturday on the back of three straight losses, the most recent by just three points to the Eagles at Patersons Stadium on Saturday night.
The Suns were 35 points down at three-quarter time but hit the lead 19 minutes into the final term after six unanswered goals. A late goal from Eagle Jeremy McGovern stole the lead back and the home side hung on despite a couple of gilt-edged chances to Gold Coast.
"I know we've lost the last three - we got beaten by Adelaide, beaten at home by Sydney and lost away to West Coast - well I look at that last quarter and say we are a good chance to beat the next three sides if we play like that," McKenna said.
"We just have to play longer than 30 minutes like that.
"I have seen our really good football … we haven't been in this position before … at 7-5 now the season only just over half-way done, so it's a big year still ahead of us and we are looking forward to next week, we are looking forward to those three challenges coming up.
"The way they finished that last quarter certainly puts a spring in my step."
All the stars aligned for Gold Coast in that sublime 20-minute patch in the final term with Harley Bennell, Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia, Andrew Swallow and Jaeger O'Meara running wild.
The only downside was an Ablett poster from an impossible-angled checkside snap with 1:41 left on the clock. It would have given them the lead and probably the match.
While disappointed at the loss, McKenna was genuinely excited about what he'd seen in the final stanza. He said that if the Suns repeated that form they could beat all gun teams they face in the next three weeks - Geelong, Hawthorn and Collingwood.
McKenna said it was simply a case of leaving its run too late against the Eagles.
"It was certainly slow and sloppy for half the game," McKenna said.
"We started to win some important contested balls in the third, then a bit of fatigue on both sides, the game opens up and all the sudden we were crisp, hit targets and took our opportunities.
"We had 14 scoring shots to three-quarter time and 11 in the last. That certainly explains the game pretty simply."
However, McKenna said the Suns would have to improve at the centre clearances against the Cats after being beaten 21-9 by the Nic Naitanui-led Eagles on Saturday.
"There is only so much a ruckman can do … when he is in form like that," he said.
