After seven straight losses without its champion skipper Gary Ablett, Gold Coast finally broke the duck. At times in the first half they looked like making it an unflattering eighth successive loss without him, but the young midfield finally stood up in his absence. Dion Prestia (31 disposals), Jaeger O'Meara (22) and Harley Bennell (20) all lifted after poor outings against the Brisbane Lions last week. A four-goal burst directly after half-time was particularly exciting with David Swallow nailing a tough set shot, O'Meara bursting clear to kick another and Bennell snapping sublimely to add another. With the shackles off, they never looked back.
2. Finals back in the picture
The quest for finals was on shaky ground a week ago, but is right back on track now for Gold Coast. Not only did the Suns do the right thing by winning to temporarily move into eighth place with a 10-8 win-loss record, but were also handed some favours from around the league. Essendon, Adelaide and North Melbourne all losing has helped their cause no-end, but they'll still likely need to win three of the remaining matches against Carlton, Port Adelaide, Essendon and West Coast to make sure of a finals spot.
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3. Young Suns get physical
After two straight losses and a horrible performance against the Lions, the talk all week on the Gold Coast was about getting back to basics and ripping into the contested ball. They not only won that count (140 to 124), but another thing they brought to Metricon Stadium was a fair dose of physicality, with a stack of spot-fires breaking out in the first half. Acting captain Tom Lynch – who was brilliant with four goals - and his deputy David Swallow were at the centre of a first quarter melee that spilled over the boundary line. Defender Steven May also got chippy with Saint Josh Bruce. The pair got entangled in the second term as more numbers milled around. The performance wasn't great, but the intent was there for all to see.
4. Another Saints tall stands up
Last time out it was Rhys Stanley having a career night against Fremantle, and this time it was Josh Bruce. The former Giant was stationed as a key position forward alongside Stanley and skipper Nick Riewoldt, and performed strongly to finish with three goals - not bad for a guy that had three career goals in his previous 21 matches. Bruce had third Suns tall defender Trent McKenzie, who was returning from a hamstring injury, marking him, and competed strongly in the air and on the ground. His strong contested mark in the goalsquare in the second term, and work-rate to get on the end of Jack Billings and Jack Stevens passes in the third and fourth, were enough to show he has talent to work with.
5. Swallow had to suck it up
With his team in desperate need of victory, Suns vice-captain David Swallow battled on with injury for much of the match. The combative midfielder limped off in the first quarter and headed straight to the dressing-rooms to get his left calf heavily strapped. He returned early in the second with an obvious limp, thanks to what is believed to be an Achilles problem, but charged on. Swallow was proppy and turned the ball over a couple of times before the long break, but got the ball rolling with a brilliant set shot from 45m to start the second half. He was subbed off midway through the last term and will be closely monitored ahead of next weekend's crunch match against Carlton.
3. Young Suns get physical
After two straight losses and a horrible performance against the Lions, the talk all week on the Gold Coast was about getting back to basics and ripping into the contested ball. They not only won that count (140 to 124), but another thing they brought to Metricon Stadium was a fair dose of physicality, with a stack of spot-fires breaking out in the first half. Acting captain Tom Lynch – who was brilliant with four goals - and his deputy David Swallow were at the centre of a first quarter melee that spilled over the boundary line. Defender Steven May also got chippy with Saint Josh Bruce. The pair got entangled in the second term as more numbers milled around. The performance wasn't great, but the intent was there for all to see.
4. Another Saints tall stands up
Last time out it was Rhys Stanley having a career night against Fremantle, and this time it was Josh Bruce. The former Giant was stationed as a key position forward alongside Stanley and skipper Nick Riewoldt, and performed strongly to finish with three goals - not bad for a guy that had three career goals in his previous 21 matches. Bruce had third Suns tall defender Trent McKenzie, who was returning from a hamstring injury, marking him, and competed strongly in the air and on the ground. His strong contested mark in the goalsquare in the second term, and work-rate to get on the end of Jack Billings and Jack Stevens passes in the third and fourth, were enough to show he has talent to work with.
5. Swallow had to suck it up
With his team in desperate need of victory, Suns vice-captain David Swallow battled on with injury for much of the match. The combative midfielder limped off in the first quarter and headed straight to the dressing-rooms to get his left calf heavily strapped. He returned early in the second with an obvious limp, thanks to what is believed to be an Achilles problem, but charged on. Swallow was proppy and turned the ball over a couple of times before the long break, but got the ball rolling with a brilliant set shot from 45m to start the second half. He was subbed off midway through the last term and will be closely monitored ahead of next weekend's crunch match against Carlton.
Getting physical didn't do Gold Coast any harm. Picture: AFL Media
