Australian Football

Match Report

GWS has maintained its place in the eight and in fact has moved up to seventh with a solid win over the Gold Coast Suns at Carrara on Saturday afternoon. The Giants led for most of the afternoon but were challenged frequently throughout the match, each time answering the challenge to run out winners by 15 points. Despite a plethora of injuries which many pundits believed would end its finals chances, GWS remains well in contention to be part of September action for the first time in its short history. 

A free-flowing first quarter made a nice change to the AFL landscape of recent times, with the league's two newest sides scoring 10 goals between them. Tom Downie got the ball rolling for the Giants with his first goal after just 36 seconds, bit within the next three minutes, Gary Ablett and Brandon Matera put two on the board for the Suns. The Giants then exploded into action, kicking the next five goals in a row to take a 25-point lead, but majors to Zac Smith and Touk Miller brought the margin back to a manageable 15 at quarter time for the Suns.

Jeremey Cameron had two chances to extend the Giants' lead early in the second term, but both his shots sailed wide. The Suns made him pay for those errors and goals to0 Matera, Miller and Ablett saw scores level at the 14-minute mark. The goals dried up after that, with the only other major of the quarter going to the Giants' Rhys Palmer, and GWS took a five-point advantage into half time.

GWS attacked heavily for the first 13 minutes of the third quarter, but the Giants' net reward was a mere four points, before Rory Lobb finally kicked accurately to give GWS a 15-point lead. There was to be only one other major scored for the term, and it went to Sun Alex Sexton, which enabled Gold Coast ti be within 11 points at the last change.

Needing a fast start in the final quarter, the Suns got just that, with Ablett and then Mitch Callahan scoring goals and Gold Coast led by a point at the 10-minute mark of the term. The Giants, who appeared ti be faltering, needed someone to stand up for them and it was Devon Smith who 'stepped up to the plate' and did so. He kicked the next goal ti restore the lead for GWS and, after Sexton replied to level the scores, added two of the next three (Callan Ward getting the other) to give the Giants a decisive three-goal lead. The Suns tried to claw their way back but a series of misses saw them fall short, GWS hanging join for a vital 15-point win.

Smith was outstanding for the Giants, with four goals and 27 possessions, while Ward (30 disposals, eight marks) and Heath Shaw (12 marks, 29 touches) were also excellent. For the Suns, Ablett (17 tackles, 30 disposals) and Miller (27 possessions, two goals) were stand-outs.

Next up for the Giants is a vital match against 11th-placed Geelong at Manuka Oval, while the Suns will be looking for their third win of the season when they take on Adelaide at the Adelaide Oval next Saturday. 

GOALS
Gold Coast: Ablett 3; Miller, Sexton, Matera 2; Hallahan, Lynch, Smith
GWS: Smith 4; Lobb, Cameron, Ward 2; McCarthy, Downie, Palmer

BEST - THE SUNDAY AGE
Gold Coast: Ablett, Miller, May, Lynch, Rischitelli, Smith
GWS: Smith, Ward, Shaw, Scully, Cogniglio, Kelly

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Gold Coast: Miller, Ablett, May, Smith, Kolodjashnij, Sexton
GWS: Smith, Ward, Shaw, Scully, Tomlinson, Kelly

INJURIES 
Gold Coast: Nicholls (leg)
GWS: Buntine (concussion)

SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Josh Glenn replaced Tom Nicholls at quarter time
GWS: Curtly Hampton replaced Cam McCarthy in the third quarter

UMPIRES: Rosebury, Brown, Mitchell

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Matthew Campbell, Jonathan Brown, Alastair Lynch