Australian Football

Match Report

Saturday's twilight game pitted the AFL's two 'hot seat' coaches against each other at Carrara, with Rodney Eade's Gold Coast Suns hosting Nathan Buckley's Collingwood. With both sides performing below expectations in 2017, the loser of this match would see the heat turned up further on its coach. In a match which saw fortunes fluctuate, it was the Magpies who eventually prevailed, giving up a big lead before sneaking home to win by 15 points. As a result, the 'coach talk' this week will centre mainly on Eade, with Buckley to perhaps escape the glare of the spotlight for seven days or so.

Gold Coast got away to a fast start in the wet, and goals to Jarryd Lyons and Jack Martin had the Suns ahead by 11 points after eight minutes. But a mark and goal to Alex Fasolo sparked the Magpies, and they added another four goals in quick time through Jarryd Blair, Fasolo, Daniel Wells and Jamie Elliott to jump to a 21-point lead. The Suns managed to stem the flow after that, but couldn't find the goals themselves, and the margin remained at 21 points when the quarter-time siren sounded. 

After being held onto in the goal-square by Sun Trent McKenzie, Ben Reid goaled from the resultant free kick early in the second quarter to give Collingwood a 27-point lead and a blow-out looked on the cards. But there was a dramatic shift in fortunes from there, and goals to Peter Wright, Jack Martin and Wright again had the Suns back within six midway through the term. Daniel Wells relieved the pressure for the Pies but another two majors to Gold Coast via Tom Lynch and Ben Ainsworth saw the two sides go into half time level on 7.5 apiece.

The Suns had the better of the early stages of the second half, and with goals to Lynch and Aaron Hall within the first seven minutes, the match looked like it could be slipping away from Collingwood. But majors to Darcy Moore and Josh Thomas, both after marks, saw scores level again 17 minutes into the third quarter. Gold Coast reclaimed a five-point lead with a mark and goal to Michael Rischitelli but a late major to Brayden Maynard had Collingwood ahed by the narrow of margins at the last change.

The rain was away for much of the second and third quarters but it returned with a vengeance in the final term with both sides desperate to nab a win. After a behind to Magpie Will Hoskin-Elliott, a goal to Ben Reid put Collingwood eight points clear but a quick snap from David Swallow had the Suns back within two after four minutes. Steele Sidebottom restored the Pies' eight-point buffer at the six-minute mark but after another 12 minutes of trading in behinds, a free kick to Ben Ainsworth saw him kick his second and Gold Coast was back within three points.

In the final few minutes though, the Magpies showed greater composure in the heavy rain, and late goals to Thomas and Reid sealed a meritorious 15-point win, keeping the wolves from Nathan Buckley's door for at least another week.

For the winners Steele Sidebottom (32 disposals, four marks) and Taylor Adams (31 possessions, four marks) were standouts while the Suns were once again served well by the evergreen Gary Ablett, who collected 41 touches and too eight marks.

The result leaves the two sides with six wins from 16 games, Collingwood ahead on the ladder by virtue of a better percentage. The Magpies will take on the eight-placed West Coast at Docklands next Sunday, while the Suns will travel north to Cairns on Saturday to face the Western Bulldogs (11th, eight wins) in another Saturday twilight match.

GOALS
Gold Coast: Wright 3; Martin, Lynch, Ainsworth 2; Lyons, Hall, Rischitelli, Swallow
Collingwood: Reid 3; Fasolo, Wells, Thomas, Moore 2; Blair, Elliott, Maynard, Sidebottom

BEST - AFL.COM.AU
Gold Coast: Ablett, Rosa, Wright, Ainsworth, Martin
Collingwood: Sidebottom, Treloar, Reid, Fasolo, Pendlebury, Thomas

BEST - BRISBANETIMES.COM.AU
Gold Coast: Ablett, Swallow, Witts, Martin, Rischitelli, Miller
Collingwood: Adams, Sidebottom, De Goey, Treloar, Wells, Pendlebury

INJURIES
Gold Coast: May (hamstring), Lyons (ankle)
Collingwood: Nil

UMPIRES: Haussen, Williamson, Mollison

TELEVISION BROADCAST: Fox Footy

COMMENTATORS: Dwayne Russell, Gerard Healy, Alastair Lynch, Cameron Mooney