The young Suns finished all over fellow expansion side GWS thanks to a club-record six-goal haul from Charlie Dixon, who is fast becoming one of the AFL’s star power forwards. As usual, Gary Ablett Jnr was unstoppable in the midfield with 32 possessions and three goals, but he had a lot of support from the likes of Dion Prestia, Jaeger O’Meara, David Swallow and Michael Rischitelli. GWS managed to score reasonably well against an undermanned Suns’ defence, but the firepower up front more than made up for that deficiency.
How they lined up:
| B: | Murphy | May | McKenzie |
| HB: | Thompson | Day | Broughton |
| C: | Harbrow | Swallow | Rischitelli |
| HF: | Stanley | Lynch | Brennan |
| F: | Prestia | Dixon | Matera |
| Ruck: | Smith | Ablet | Hunt |
| INT: | O'Meara | Hall | Shaw, Hutchins (sub) |
Key outs: Bennell (Mid), Bock (Def), Warnock (Def)
By the lines
Defence: The Suns like to put the ball in the hands of Trent McKenzie, who possesses arguably the longest kick in the competition. He has the ability to penetrate over defensive walls, which could be vital against Fremantle and Ross Lyon’s structure. The key defensive posts are undermanned, with experienced pair Nathan Bock and Matthew Warnock out. Guy McKenna sent high draft pick Sam Day into defence with success. The 196cm and 101kg forward finished with 12 disposals, six marks and a game-high eight one-percenters. Steven May and Rory Thompson also manned key positions in the back six last weekend, while former Hawthorn defender Thomas Murphy adds stability.
Midfield: Gary Ablett Jnr leads what is a super-talented midfield unit. The former Geelong champion is simply breathtaking as he walks through congested packs as if he were the invisible man. Ablett has a God-given (Gary Ablett Snr) ability to extract the ball and, if he can’t get through himself, he fires out a sublime quick handball to a free teammate. David Swallow is emerging as a star, while the prodigious talents of Jaegar O’Meara have not taken long to surface in his first AFL season. There’s depth and experience in the Gold Coast engine room, too, with Rischitelli, Harbrow, Brennan and Stanley all running through the engine room during the game.
Forward: Charlie Dixon is now the man in the Suns’ forward 50. Big, strong and very smart, he is an old-fashioned power forward and Gold Coast’s main avenue to goal. At ground level, Brandon Matera, Dion Prestia and a resting Ablett all have the ability to kick goals.
Ruck: Zac Smith leads the ruck for the Suns, with Dixon often giving him a spell. Both are young and extremely athletic for their size.
KPI Tale of the tape – Gold Coast season average per game and AFL rank
Contested possessions – 155 – 3rd
Uncontested possessions – 185 – 15th
Disposals – 346 – 13th
Disposal efficiency – 68.7% - 15th
Kicks – 214 – 6th
Kicking efficiency – 62% - 16th
Handballs – 132 – 15th
Tackles – 58 – 14th
Marks – 76 – 13th
Contested Marks – 9 – 16th
Uncontested marks – 67 – 13th
Inside 50 – 53 – 13th
Hitouts – 33 – 14th
Hitouts to advantage – 7 – 17th
Clearances – 39 – 7th
