Source :- PERTH NOW NEWS
Hawthorn spearhead Jack Gunston has been ruled out of another high-stakes clash after failing to prove his fitness.
Gunston kicked five goals to three-quarter time against St Kilda in round 12, sitting out the final quarter as the Coleman Medal leader.
He missed the Hawks’ narrow loss to Western Bulldogs the week after with a lingering foot sprain and pulled up lame at Monday training despite the bye break.
Hawthorn coach Sam Mitchell notes no fresh setback, saying the veteran just needs further assessment from the club’s medical staff.
“He just trained on Monday and we suspected he would pull up fine and train (Wednesday), but you’ll see him not out there,” Mitchell said.
“Unfortunately, he just hasn’t pulled up as well as we’d like, so we just need to continue to reassess.
“I left it with the medical team but they’ve ruled him out already. I thought I would give you a little snippet today.”
The Hawks coughed up a 29-point lead to the Bulldogs before the bye, kicking 1.11 from 15 shots on goal.
Their opponent this week, Gold Coast Suns, is under greater pressure to perform after losing three matches in a row and falling to ninth on the ladder.
Additionally, there was reports of disenchantment among the Suns’ players, and coach Damien Hardwick cut a frustrated figure after the loss to Geelong.
Mitchell anticipates a fierce Suns but says his Hawks must pass these types of tests to shape September.
“I don’t think you play against any Damien Hardwick sides and think, ‘Oh yeah, this’ll be an easy one, we’ll just roll over here’,” he said.
“He’s going to have them riled up and rightfully so, (but) we lost our last game and our form line, win-loss, hasn’t been great either.
“This is a really important phase of the year and to be where we want to be in the later part of the season, we have to beat teams like the Suns.
“This is a massive game for us and we’ll see how quickly we can bounce out of what hasn’t been our best form.”
