On a night Danny Stanley celebrated his 50th AFL Premiership match for the Gold Coast SUNS, the bustling midfielder turned in the stand out performance for the home side as they survived a spirited performance charge by the Melbourne Demons to claim a 13 point victory at Metricon Stadium, their seventh of the season..
Stanley was super impressive against Dee’s danger men Colin Slyvia and Nathan Jones, finishing the match with 21 disposals, seven clearances, four inside-50s and a goal after sneaking forward to ensure he gave the home crowd a reason to celebrate.
Speaking exclusively to goldcoastfc.com.au immediately after the match, Stanley said the boy’s ability to hold the Demon’s at bay during the fourth-quarter showed how far the playing group had come this season.
“To their credit they put it to use for four quarters and really made us earn that victory – it was hard fought,” Stanley said.
“Early on in our club’s history we might have let that game slip, but our playing group fought on and got the result.”
“It’s certainly going to give us some confidence heading into our match against Port Adelaide next week.”
While it wasn’t the prettiest of wins, GC SUNS senior coach Guy McKenna found comfort in his side’s gruelling defensive pressure with the side out-tackling the Demons 61-44.
“Given our limited numbers on the bench and lack of rotations I thought we won ugly,” he said.
“But I was impressed with the boy’s forward pressure ability, with some of our defensive mechanisms holding up better than last week.”
Stanley’s relentless efforts ensured Gary Ablett celebrating his 250th AFL games club and team mate David Swallow playing his 50th AFL career match could celebrate their milestone games with the competition points safely in their keeping.
“We had Gazza’s 250th and David’s 50th as well so it’s good to get the win.”
With only three AFL Premiership matches remaining, finishing the season off strong is a must as the boy’s look to build momentum heading into the club’s 2013-2014 Pre-Season campaign.
“We have a few winnable games coming up so hopefully we can build on some strong form and come back bigger and better in 2014.”
