GOLD COAST has been dealt a blow ahead of Saturday’s clash with Hawthorn at Aurora Stadium, with small forward Brandon Matera ruled out with a groin injury.

Matera was subbed out at half time in Saturday evening’s win over Geelong and has been ruled out for the next 2-3 weeks.

“He had an acute incident where he had a strain in his groin so we anticipate he will miss a couple of weeks and then will look to get him back on deck in that time,” Gold Coast High Performance Manager – Stephen Schwerdt confirmed.

It is a blow for the Suns who will be hoping to knock off another potential finals side, having had one of their best ever wins over the Cats last Saturday.

Matera is equal second on Gold Coast’s goal kicking leader board with 22 for the year, behind only Tom Lynch who has booted 27.

He is averaging a little over a goal a game this year.

He is also ranked second overall at the Suns for total score with 22.12 – just four behind Lynch with 27.11 and ranked in the top five for marks taken inside 50.

But Matera adds more to the Suns than goal kicking prowess, with his speed and ability to apply pressure among his biggest strengths.

He is ranked in the top 10 at his club for tackles, averaging 3.3 per game but his pace allows him to get from contest to contest to make an impact around the ball use of the opposition.

Matera can also add to the midfield rotation.

The small forward missed the last meeting between the two sides in Round 4 this year but was one of his side's best in the Round 9 game last year, when the Suns almost pulled off an upset victory over the Hawks at the MCG.

In that game he picked up 21 disposals, took seven marks, had six inside 50s and kicked a goal to be named among his team's best.