HIS TEAM was already down by 29 points, but Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew held his tongue.
At quarter time, the Suns had a mountain to climb if they were going to claim an unlikely four points against Sydney at the SCG.
Dew decided against giving his players a spray.
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"I went the other way – generally when you're 1.5 to 6.4 the easy one is to come out firing," he said.
"But we all got to some individuals. With the line coaches, we talked about it leading into the break – really get to some individuals and how they can influence.
"We went down the path of six (scoring) shots to 10, and, it looks bad but our intent early (was good). We just didn't get score on the board."
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He made the right call. The Suns produced their best quarter of the year in the second, booting 6.2 and holding the Swans goalless to surge to the front at half-time and set up a memorable 24-point victory.
"Although the first quarter went a bit pear shaped scoreboard wise, I thought our intent and intensity was there," Dew said.
"But to fight back, and then obviously play the game out and win against a side that is going to finish top four and play finals, I think, (makes me) really proud of the result for our footy club and our supporters who have stuck with us.
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"It's just a sign that the body of work we're putting in – we're now capable and I think the challenge starts just to consistently roll it out and that's week-on-week, year-on-year.
"It's not just the two hours today."
Dew stopped short of calling it the greatest win in the club's eight AFL seasons.
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But he did note it was the first time Gold Coast had rolled the Swans – a club he had been an assistant coach at for seven seasons before heading to the Glitter Strip.
Dew praised the performances of Lachie Weller (23 possessions, two goals) and defender Rory Thompson, who held Sydney superstar Lance Franklin goalless.
He also singled our Jarrod Witts, who dominated the ruck battle with 56 hit-outs up against Swans Callum Sinclair (24) and Darcy Cameron (nine).
Will Brodie (28 touches), Touk Miller (25 touches) and Steven May (23 touches, 14 marks) also shone for the visitors.
The Suns held a 20-point lead at three-quarter time, but that was quickly slashed when Sydney started the last term with two quick goals.
Dew said his players had drawn on lessons learnt in round 13 – when the Suns conceded the last five goals to lose to St Kilda by two points – in a bid to hold on this time.
"The players were talking about the St Kilda situation at three-quarter time. We noted in that game that the voice dropped right away," Dew said.
"So, the key theme that came from the players themselves was to keep communicating and make sure we get things right.
"It's never going to be perfect, but I think if the intent is there we put ourselves in a position to win the game."
