Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick says shorter break will give Suns advantage against Fremantle Dockers

Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick knows the Suns will have their “work cut out for us” when they face Fremantle on Saturday night in a no-holds-barred elimination final, but said he felt the shorter break between games would give the visitors an advantage.

The Suns finished their season three days later than the Dockers, with a big win over Essendon after their Opening Round fixture was rescheduled due to a cyclone in March.

Hardwick said spending less time idle over the pre-finals bye would help his young side ahead of the club’s first-ever September appearance in the eliminator at Optus Stadium.

“The positive for us is that some sides have been sitting idle for two weeks by the time they play, so I think it probably is more of an advantage than a disadvantage,” Hardwick said on Thursday.

“One thing you do like to do is get your players up and going, and that bye-week break is sometimes challenging, so we were fortunate enough to play a game on Wednesday, so we moved forward pretty quickly.”

Hardwick didn’t reveal any of his side’s plans, but both Gold Coast and the Dockers have made the contest their forte, setting up a mouthwatering battle between two of the competition’s elite engine rooms.

“Fremantle are a great side, really well coached, really well drilled, have a good understanding of their connection piece and what that looks like, so we’re going to have our work cut out for us, no question,” he said.

“These two sides are built for these types of games. They’re both very combative inside, but both have a great ability to cover ground.

“One of the strengths of Fremantle as a side is very similar to us. The work rate contest to contest, and that’s something we spoke to our players about today.

“It’s going to be the side that takes and plays their moments.”

The three-time premiership coach also said he had encouraged his group to relish their first finals venture and embrace the 14 years of hard work that had gone into earning the opportunity.

“We want our players to lean into it; it’s not often you get the opportunity.

“Finals are really, really hard to make. There’s 18 teams vying for eight spots and we’re fortunate enough to be one of those sides.

“We want our players to enjoy the build-up, don’t wish the week away, just stay where your feet are and continue to understand our process, if we do it to the 80 per cent, it’s going to be strong and give us every chance of winning against a really good opposition.”