Suncoast had the Round 11 Velocity Sports Cup match against Zillmere seemingly in their keeping, but a flurry of late goals saw the Eagles win 22.10 (142)-19.12 (126).
It was the perfect example of 12 months being an eternity in football.
In the corresponding game last year, Zillmere were held goalless. This time the Eagles kicked the highest score at the Gabba this year.
Suncoast booted the first five goals of the match, with Matthew Leuenberger dominating the ruck and Albert Proud typically busy at ground level.
On the rare occasion the Eagles did venture forward, Daniel Dzufer was stopping their progress and rebounding it quickly the other way.
The Eagles whittled the margin back to 16 points at the first change, then a seven-goal second term by the visitors saw the margin back to a point at the main break.
The ascendancy see-sawed through the second half, with Chris Schmidt and James Hawksley doing plenty of good things, but ultimately the Lions paid the price for not running hard enough defensively.
They no doubt suffered from the loss of Scott Harding at halftime with a knee injury, while Wayde Mills played only limited minutes.
Moody and Sheldon were also rotated off the ground for long periods as part of their gradual easy back into action from groin problems.
Moody kicked three goals during his time on the ground, while Sheldon was less conspicuous but survived the hit-out.
Dzufer was Suncoast’s best player, constantly running hard to try and create the loose man and using the ball effectively, while Suncoast made numerous clean centre breaks when Leuenberger was on the ball.
The Eagles had injury problems of their own, with stars Nikos Keim and Rob Lucas lost in the first and second quarter respectively.
Usual deep forward Dan Collins was thrown onto the ball to ruck-rover with Ben Drew in Davis’ absence and did an outstanding job.
The duo combined for five goals while resting to cap a major contribution to the cause.
Regular defender Myles Trew took Keim’s place in the midfield and never stopped running, proving a great back-up.
Former Suncoast representative John James, who produced several eye-catching performances for the Lions last year, obviously likes the Gabba because he was close to Zillmere’s best.
James’ tackling pressure in the forward line was fanatical and he kept the pressure right on the Suncoast defenders.
One of the beneficiaries was Jake Myles, who continued his golden debut season in the AFL State League with another five goals.
Scoreboard:
Suncoast Lions, 6.1, 10.4, 15.10, 19.12 (126)
Zillmere Eagles, 3.3, 10.3, 14.7, 22.10 (142)
Goals, Lions: M Moody 3, J Tippett 2, S Maxfield 2, A Proud 2, J Hawksley 2, M Leuenberger 2, T Grayson 2, S Clouston, B Dalziell, D Steven, J Parkes 1. Eagles: J Miles 5, S Robertson 4, M Payne 3, D Collins 3, D Flaherty 3, B Drew 2, A Miller, J James 1.
Best, Lions: D Dzufer, A Proud, M Leuenberger, C Schmidt, J Hawksley. Eagles: A Miller, J James, D Collins, M Payne, M Trew, S Tapp
