JOEL Jeffrey lived every young footballer’s dream when he nailed a set shot on the siren to hand Gold Coast an epic VFL come-from-behind victory over Sydney at Tramway Oval on Saturday.

The Suns trailed by 38 points approaching the 27-minute mark of the second term but produced a third-quarter avalanche to roar back into the contest, before rallying again into the wind in the last quarter to steal a three-point victory with the last kick of the day.

Seemingly down and out approaching the main break, Gold Coast prime mover Darcy MacPherson breathed life into the contest with two goals in a minute to cut the half-time gap to 26 points, and when Jacob Townsend scored early in the third, the Suns had a sniff.

Quick replies from Callum Sinclair and Adam Gulden gave Sydney some breathing space again, but the 50m penalty the Swans’ skipper received for his major sparked the visitors into action.

They piled on seven unanswered goals to take an unthinkable 10-point lead into the last quarter as Brayden Fiorini (45 disposals, nine marks and a goal) cut loose, Jeffrey and Townsend kicked two each for the term and Ben Ainsworth (21 disposals, three goals) got off the leash.

Sydney seemingly answered the challenge with the first three goals of the final term with the wind at its back and looked likely to get out of jail, but the Swans’ second-half malaise, in which they repeatedly kicked sideways and backwards in a split from the direct footy they played in the first half, soon came back to bite them.

The Suns attacked relentlessly in the last 10 minutes of the game and Ainsworth booted his third in the 25th minute to get them within a kick, then Jeffrey took an uncontested mark 30m out and calmly drilled the set shot for his own third goal as the siren sounded to hand them their second win of the season – both against Sydney – and all-but ended the Swans’ finals hopes in the process.

MacPherson starred again for Gold Coast with 26 touches and three goals, while Will Brodie had 28, Jeremy Sharp 26 and Rory Atkins 24 in a famous win scored on the back of kicking an excellent 17.5 for the day.

Sydney cracked under pressure in the second half, but was best served by Callum Sinclair (20 disposals, six marks, 36 hitouts and a goal), while Hayden McLean was good up forward with four goals from eight marks and Dylan Stephens (32, seven tackles), Sam Gray (32) and Ryan Clarke (30) got plenty of the ball.

The Swans also lost impressive youngster Marc Sheather to a first-quarter collarbone injury in an extra blow.

Jake Riccardi produced the career-best response to being omitted from Greater Western Sydney’s AFL team as the Giants thrashed Aspley by 49 points at Blacktown International Sports Park.

Riccardi, who had 40 disposals at centre half back the last time he was dropped, was the difference as he kicked a VFL season-best 8.4 from 24 possessions and 14 marks as the Giants took control of the match in the second quarter and ran away with a second successive win to resurrect their finals hopes.

After a tight first quarter saw GWS leading by three points, the Giants built a 23-point lead by the main break and held off a Hornet rally before kicking seven goals to two in the last term for a comprehensive victory.

Tanner Bruhn had 25 and two goals and ruckman Kieren Briggs was brilliant with 23 touches, six marks, 28 hitouts and a goal, while Nick Shipley had 31, Alex Smout 24 and mid-season draftee James Peatling 23.

But the best news GWS could take from the match was the return of former co-captain Phil Davis, who was terrific with 18 disposals and 10 marks to show he is ready for a quick return to AFL action.

Frosty Miller Medal leader Matt Hammelmann was again outstanding for the Hornets with nine marks and six goals, but he once again found little support with only Connor Stackelberg (two) and James Ivers helping him on the scoreboard.

Club great Matthew Payne had 32 in the middle, while Corey Lyons (26) and Ryan Bastinac (25) could also hold their heads high.

Twitter: @BRhodesVFL

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SATURDAY, JUNE 12
Sydney 16.8 (104) lost to Gold Coast 17.5 (107) (Match Centre)
GWS Giants 17.12 (114) def Aspley 9.11 (65) (Match Centre)