In May 2011, these two teams met at Etihad Stadium in round six for what turned out to be a hopelessly lopsided contest. The Bombers won by 139 points in a game that Guy McKenna said this week had not been revisited. "I can't remember that, for some reason. I remember after quarter-time I thought it was half reasonable," McKenna said. "I don't know how you get motivated by nightmares." On Saturday night, in the first head to head between the teams since that night where the Bombers scored a record 94 points in the opening quarter, the Suns got within 10 points in the third before being cut down by injuries. It wasn't the ground-breaking win at Docklands the Suns were after but it was a vast improvement from the last time they played the Bombers there.
2. When it rains
Well, it doesn't rain under Etihad Stadium's roof, but the Suns could be forgiven for feeling like storm clouds had formed directly over their bench. Tom Murphy was the first casualty when he twice rolled his ankle in the first quarter, and while that was an injury that didn't stop him playing out the game, the same couldn't be said for Tom Lynch, who was subbed off with a sore knee after a collision with Jake Melksham in the second. Michael Rischitelli came off after he injured his right elbow in a third-quarter incident that nearly snapped his arm in half, before Joel Wilkinson was treated for a foot problem later that quarter. Before the game, assistant coach Dean Solomon told 3AW the bye had come at a bad time for the Suns given the way they'd been building but they'd probably happily take it now given the number of sore players the game generated.
3. Brownlow bout tease
James Hird joked on Friday he might ring Guy McKenna and ask him to allow a Jobe Watson-Gary Ablett head to head to "let the public feast on that". In the game's opening stages, it looked as though the two Brownlow medallists would actually be facing off when they lined up alongside each other at the centre bounce before Watson won the first possession. But Heath Hocking was quick to pick up Ablett and dutifully followed him for the rest of the game. While Ablett had a purple patch early in the third quarter and still managed 36 disposals – with a huge 21 contested - he didn't stand out like he usually does. Watson's performance was similar; he had 31 disposals and flashes of brilliance but also didn't consistently grab your attention with both likely victims of their usual super standards. Afterwards, Hird conceded stopping Ablett altogether was impossible. "I thought Heath [Hocking] played on him as well as anyone," Hird said. "He probably just affected his influence forward of the centre and made sure Gary got a lot of his ball in the back half, which was our purpose. If you went out to stop Gary getting more than 20 possessions, you're kidding yourself."
4. Baby Bomber has arrived
The biggest cheers of all were saved for second-gamer Joe Daniher, who lined up in attack against Sam Day. Fans didn't have to wait long for Daniher's first shot at goal, which was a point scored at the seven-minute mark, and it generated an incredible roar from the cheer squad who watched from the opposite end of the ground. When he nailed his first goal in the AFL just over 10 minutes later, it reached fever pitch, which was echoed when he slotted a second minutes later after taking a mark at full stretch in front of Trent McKenzie. Even Daniher jogging off the ground was enough to ignite the Essendon supporters, emphasising their love for the highly-touted youngster they've had to wait half a season to see and who ended with three goals. Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna admitted the Suns had to switch their best defender – Rory Thompson – onto Daniher, who managed to curb his influence, while Hird said fans would have "got a glimpse of the future right there, in that half".
5. Jaeger bomb goes off
While Essendon supporters are quite rightly excited about Daniher, Suns fans should be just as equally pumped about the development of Jaeger O'Meara. The 19-year-old cracked the 30-disposal mark for the first time in just his 12th game, took seven marks and had five clearances. McKenna said the Suns had enjoyed the added bonus of having O'Meara at their club last year but believes he would still be making as much impact in his first year had he not had last season's exposure. "He plays like he's played a lot more than 12 games of football," McKenna said. "I don't think you would notice a great deal of change if he hadn't have done that [last year], if he'd walked straight in the door. He plays very high level of football with great intensity and he has done since the first day he got here and I'm sure he'll continue to do so. He's a beauty."
