GPS head coach Sio Kite believes his side will need to be at its best to beat a “brutal” Sunnybank outfit this weekend, as his side looks to turnaround a challenging start to its 2025 Hospital Cup season. 

GPS started its season with strong away win against UQ, before suffering back-to-back defeats to Souths and Brothers. 

Speaking to Rugby News before GPS hosted Sunnybank this Saturday, Kite admitted GPS was not where it wanted to be at this stage of the season, but said there were some promising signs.

“Look, there’s no point shying away from the fact that we haven’t started as well as we could have and we are not where we want to be in terms of the results,” he said. 

“In saying that, I feel like we are in a good spot in terms of health, and particularly culture, which has improved since last year. We have a bunch of fresh guys at the club who are really keen and hungry.”

Kite said his side was not set up to play on the wet tracks which have been a constant factor in games this year due to poor weather, and added he was still trying to work out the best method to approach these games.  

“We are not built for wet weather… looking at the Brothers game, it was one of the worst weather events I have been part of in a rugby game. I think we tried to play too much footy in this game, we could have been smarter and played for territory more,” he said.

“The wet tracks have provided a conundrum, because our club has built its ethos on a running rugby style. It’s literally in our mission statement. The last two weeks have put it to the test. We haven’t got the balance quite right, but we have learnt a lot.”

Kite said he was confident his side could turn its form around against a winless Sunnybank side this weekend, but added the visitors’ “brutal” forward line made the fixture an enticing matchup.   

“I’ve watched them, and I say this in the most respectful way: they have a brutal forward pack. Once they get into the 22’, it’s almost impossible to stop them,” Kite said. 

“When I watch Sunnybank play, they play similar style to what you see in Super Rugby – they will throw the ball around when they are outside the attacking 22’ but when they’re in there, they’re just going north, south, and they are bashing teams. 

“We got bashed by them in preseason… I can’t just disregard or disrespect the fact that they’ve got some good backs, but if I’m honest, I’m acutely aware that they’ve got some big, heavy carriers in their forward pack.

“We have to play smart and our discipline will need to be on point, because if you let them in your red zone, they are tough to stop, and they’ve given teams hell as a result of that.”

The GPS coach is expecting big games lock forward Oli Bartlett, who is returning from injury, as well as number seven Nick Baker.

“Oli is back from injury and he’s important. We are looking for him to be physical and basically making sure we stop the Sunnybank players, so our guys can get to work,” Kite said.

“The other one I will keep pinpointing is Nick Baker, our seven. He’s had a pretty good start to the season. He’s been having a good crack and I’m expecting him to play a big role this weekend.”