The Suns will be hoping for the year to end with the rate their players are going down. Nathan Bock was limping before the start and was taken off at half time, spending the second half with ice strapped to his shin. Then a fourth quarter melee in the Suns’ goalsquare ended with Alex Sexton leaving the field in agony with a dislocated shoulder. He was rushed to hospital soon afterwards. Sam Day also left the field with a hamstring injury.
2. Quiet night for milestone man
Gary Ablett Jr’s 250th match was one of his quietest of the season. He did not get a touch until midway through the first quarter when an errant crossfield kick from Colin Sylvia found him on the 50 metre arc. He walked back and kicked straight through the middle but did not get another kick at goal until late in the fourth quarter. Even his 19 possessions were boosted by a few cheap touches near his own goal. There were some black ops tactics with Colin Garland at times holding Ablett’s arm behind his back at stoppages. Jordie McKenzie took up most of the slack from quarter-time onwards and helped keep him off the ball. David Swallow outshone his skipper with a superb performance which
included 28 possessions.
3. Thompson swinging it
The momentum was swinging in Melbourne’s direction when Jack Fitzpatrick’s goal put it in front for the first time since the opening quarter. Rory Thompson was then sent forward from the last line of defence and the Suns never looked back. First, after being gifted a free kick in front of the posts, he gave the Suns the lead again and then, six minutes later, his presence stopped Melbourne being able to clear,allowing Harley Bennell to score and extend the lead before three-quarter time.
4. Sloppy kicking
The Demons had more scoring shots than the Suns so should have been in with a shout as the home team’s stocks were depleted in the closing stages. But Jack Fitzpatrick’s miss from right in front of the posts inside the last two minutes summed up an evening where they converted just 3.7 from set shots. Shannon Byrnes was the biggest culprit kicking 1.5 with a couple missing the target altogether. The Suns were not without their own poor shooters with Harley Bennell and Aaron Hall both ending up with 1.4. In fairness, both of their goals were worth
the entrance money. Hall ran from inside his own back half before kicking home from way outside the 50, and Bennell converted a superb curling effort after running to the right of the goal.
5. Good and bad of Brownie
While others couldn’t find their range, Campbell Brown didn’t struggle. He came into the game with 20.11 and emphasised his record by kicking three goals straight on Saturday night. He may come under investigation for an incident where his swinging boot left James Strauss bleeding from the nose. He started the year with an enforced
holiday and may end it abruptly as well. It’s a good job between these times he has shown his worth for 2014.
