THIS "oddball" duo that first crossed paths a decade ago is now helping transform Gold Coast into one of the most potent forward lines in the competition.
Sarah Perkins and Tara Bohanna were opponents in the Yarra Junior Football League in Melbourne long before the AFLW was even a pipe dream.
Ten years later – after playing together at the Eastern Devils between times – they're forward line partners for Cameron Joyce's much-improved Suns.
While Perkins was an inaugural premiership player with Adelaide and has spent time at Melbourne before finding her latest home, Bohanna took the long way around to debut earlier this season at the age of 26.
Together, they're forming a perfect union.
"We've known each other for a little while, it's not just something that's blossomed over five or six months, it's something that's been building for a very long time," Perkins told womens.afl.
"We just get along. We're two oddballs and we just somehow work.
"She's got a booming left foot and I've got a booming right foot.
"We're on the verge of building something and we're excited to see where it goes."
Bohanna has kicked seven goals from five games, while Perkins has kicked three, but more than that, they're part of a collective unit that is averaging the fifth most points a game in the competition.
Last season the winless Suns were bottom of the pile for scoring, and the Perkins-Bohanna combination, along with contributions of 'smalls' Kate Surman and Tori Groves-Little is part of the reason for their 3-2 start.
Perkins said the late recruitment of Bohanna to cover the loss of Annise Bradfield (ACL) instantly put a smile on her face.
"For me as a football nuff and got a bit of football IQ, to have someone else come in with the same IQ I was really excited," she said.
"I know how lucky we are to have her.
"She's just got little quirks. She comes out with brilliant one-liners, she comes out with funny videos.
"She's huge for the team culture."
That culture will be put to the ultimate test at Metricon Stadium on Thursday night when the Suns host Brisbane in the third instalment of the QClash.
Brisbane won the corresponding contest by 10 goals in 2021, and again hammered the Suns by a similar margin in a pre-season trial two months ago.
Perkins said a lot had changed since then, though.
"Our practice match wasn't the greatest," she said.
"Brisbane are a really strong unit. We've got to be on top of everyone from their stars to their girls that fly a bit under the radar.
"Our pressure is relentless and that's something we want to be known for."
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