KEY forward Jack Gunston says Hawthorn is expecting a big challenge from Carlton when the sides clash at Etihad Stadium on Friday night.
The Hawks have won seven in a row – including big wins against premiership contenders Fremantle and Sydney – heading into their clash with the Blues.
But the developing Blues side, which has won two of their past five games and been competitive in losses to top-eight sides Western Bulldogs, Richmond and Fremantle, will no doubt be out to make a statement against the Hawks under interim coach John Barker.
Gunston said the Hawks’ approach would not change, as they seek to build on their current form and push for a top-two finish.
“When you go out and play the top teams, you want to be playing your best footy and you need to play four-quarter footy,” he said.
“I feel for the majority of the eight quarters over the past two weeks we’ve played pretty well.
“But saying that you go into a new week this week, and no matter the opponent you’ve still got to perform and we still need that four-quarter effort this week.
“It’s been pleasing to play good footy the last couple of weeks, but we need to continue that.”
He said the Blues, who only trailed the Dockers by 21 points at three quarter time last week, had been impressive in their recent games.
“They’re playing some great footy at the moment and their ball movement has been really good from their backline,” Gunston said.
“We’ve got to be wary of them, but we’ve got to go out play the footy we have played over the past few weeks.”
Gunston will enter the clash with the Blues on the back of a strong performance against the Swans, where he kicked three goals in the opening term and finished with four for the match.
He has kicked 31 goals in 15 matches this season, and says his own form is building.
“It was nice to kick a couple early in the game and get on the end of a few, but it’s been sort of an up and down year,” the 23-year-old said.
“With the forwards, sometimes it can be about getting your own ball, getting up the ground and getting involved – you don’t want to get bogged down just in the forward line.
“The last few weeks have been great – the supply we’re getting from the midfield makes the job much easier for the forwards.
“I just want to be consistent and be a target up forward, but saying that, I think what’s positive about our forward line is we’ve got a range of options.”
The Hawks have managed more than 100 points in each of their past six games, and have had 10 or more individual goalkickers in the past two weeks.
“One week it could be your turn, but the next week it could be someone like (Jarryd) Roughead, (Luke) Breust or (Cyril) Rioli,” Gunston said.
“It’s good to have multiple options up forward – I just want to keep playing my role and hopefully we can keep getting the wins on the board.”
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