Australian Football

Match Report

Two weeks ago, the Gold Coast Suns were a club in crisis, having been thrashed to the tune of 102 points by GWS, and with rumours abounding that its star Gary Ablett was unhappy and couldn't wait to move back to his home state of Victoria. Well if a week is a long time in football, the Suns have proved that a fortnight is an eternity, after they recorded a strong win against Carlton at Docklands on Saturday night, to go with their 86-point thrashing of Hawthorn a week earlier. Ablett was amongst the best for the second week in a row, and suddenly all is rosy at Carrara once more. 

Saturday night's match got off to a slow start, with neither side scoring for the first five minutes. Jacob Weitering broke the deadlock with a strong mark and beautiful long goal but Sun Tom Lynch did the same two minutes later to set up what would be a very goos night for him. The Blues held sway for the next seven minutes, adding three behinds and a goal to Levi Casboult to jump to a nine-point lead. Lynch's second cut the margin to three, and a further goal to Brandon Matera had the Suns ahead by two points at quarter time.

It didn't take long for Carlton to regain the lead in the second quarter, Jack Silvagni's roving goal putting the Blues four points clear, but Lynch struck again at the four-minute mark, marking and goaling to put Gold Coast ahead again. Four minutes later he had his fourth, and the Suns were ahead by eight but debutant Zac Fisher kicked a beautiful goal from the boundary to cut the Blues' deficit back to two after nine minutes. That man Tom Lynch bobbed up once more at the 14-minute mark to kick his fifth, but Carlton finished the term strongly, with goals to Jarrod Pickett and Ed Curnow seeing the Blues ahead 6.6 to 6.1 at the half. 

Jack Bowes put the Suns back in front when he kicked a goal after a free kick two minute into the third quarter but a mark and goal to Kade Simpson had Carlton back in front by a goal at the eight-minute mark. Unfortunately for the Blues, things turned very sour for them after that. A brace of goals to Peter Wright at the 12 and 14-minute marks put Gold Coast back in front and sparked a string of goals, with Jarryd Lyons, Matera. Lynch and Sean Lemmens getting in on the act. When the siren sounded for three-quarter time, the Suns were suddenly 32 points clear. 

Desperate for the first goal of the final term, the Blues got it through Silvagni as they had in the second, but the Suns had the answers and further majors to Wright, Ablett and Matera took to margin out to 44 points and the game was as good as over. Carlton scored consolation goals late in the match, one to Sam Rowe and two to Casboult, but the heat had well and truly gone out of the game by then, and the Suns won by 26 points, winding down late in the match.

Tom Lynch's career best haul of seven goals made him one of Gold Coast's best, while Marc Murphy (28 possessions, seven tackles) played a fine captain's game for the Blues.

The Suns will have a tough task m making it three wins in a row, taking on the undefeated Adelaide Crows at Carrara on Saturday, while Carlton will also have a tough assignment in round five, taking on Port Power at the Adelaide Oval on Friday night. 

GOALS
Carlton: Silvagni, Casboult 3; Weitering, Fisher, Pickett, C. Curnow, Simpson, Rowe
Gold Coast: Lynch 6; Wright, Matera 3; Bowes, Lyons, Lemmens, Ablett

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Carlton: Murphy, Docherty, Marchbank, Silvagni, Casboult
Gold Coast: Lynch, Matera, Ablett, Hall, Witts, Martin, Miller, Fiorini

BEST - THE AGE
Carlton: Murphy, Curnow, Docherty, Simpson, Gibbs, Casboult
Gold Coast: Lynch, Matera, Ablett, Martin, Hall, Saad, Harbrow, Fiorini

INJURIES
Carlton: Nil
Gold Coast: May (hamstring)

UMPIRES: Fisher, Margetts, Hosking

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Jason Dunstall, Brad Johnson, Brian Lake