Hawthorn Senior Coach Sam Mitchell says his side is fully focused on nullifying Gold Coast’s threats as they prepare to travel north to play under Friday night lights in Round 15.

The Hawks have had time to reflect on their season to date during last week’s bye and have come back to the club rejuvenated and ready to face an exciting challenge against Gold Coast on Friday. 

In positive news, Mitchell confirmed that defender Tom Barrass would return for his first game since injuring his hamstring in Round 9 against Fremantle. 

However, the Hawks coach has ruled out forward Jack Gunston from the clash, as he continues to battle a foot injury. 

We summarised the key points from Mitchell’s press conference below. 

On reflecting on the season so far during the bye 

“I think we look at the season and think there were some good parts about it so far, but some missed opportunities as well. We continue to be a work in progress. The thing I've really wanted to try to help us achieve this year is to be able to beat the best sides. We've been okay, our record against the top is okay, but that continues to be a work in progress for us and something we want to make sure we can do consistently, and we get another test this week.”

On reviewing the loss against the Bulldogs 

“If I’m being honest, we did a pretty quick review straight after the game, and then we really zoomed out and looked at the whole first half of the season, and when we came back, everyone had a few days off, and the pain of the loss had started to subside for most of us. You sort of try to take it in context and realise that we missed some opportunities, and there are parts of our game that we're not happy with, that we need to continue to improve, but there were some other parts of our game that have shown some growth and that are giving us good chances to compete against the best.”

On Jack Gunston’s availability 

“He just trained on Monday, and we suspected that he would pull up fine and train today, but you'll see him not out there today, and unfortunately, he just hasn't pulled up as well as we'd like. So we just need to continue to reassess. I’ve left it with the medical team, but they've ruled him out already.”

On Tom Barrass’s availability 

“Tom Barrass will play this week, so assuming everything goes well at training, he's good to go.”

On the SUNS 

“They're not going to be the last team that goes down to GMHBA and doesn't come away with four points. They've played some good sides and haven't been at their absolute best, and they've got a fair bit of media scrutiny this week, but we prepare for them at their best, and their best is as good as it gets. They've got the talent on paper and a really strong system by a really good coach. I think when you look at the SUNS, when we play them, we know we're going to have to be close to our absolute best to be competitive and to beat them. We're looking forward to the test. Everyone's enjoying each other's company, being back after a few days off, and there's a lot of energy and vibrancy amongst our group. We’re really looking forward to getting up there.”

Watch Mitchell’s full press conference below