It wasn’t Gold Coast’s day in the 17^th edition of the QClash at Metricon Stadium in Round 6, but there were still some positives to come from the match.

The SUNS Media team have broken down three key takeaways from the game.
 

Corbett’s contribution: 

In his first game of AFL football, Josh Corbett looked the part. While the 23-year-old didn’t break the game open, he did have some quality touches when the ball was in his area. In the second quarter, the lead-up forward kicked his first AFL goal from an acute angle, then followed it up with another from the other side of the ground just five minutes later. 

His strong hands and marking were a highlight, with Corbett’s accurate kicking in front of goals also a bonus. His desperation in the first quarter to scramble and tap the ball to the advantage of Jack Lukosius for a goal is also a sign of his willingness to work hard for his teammates even if the stats sheet didn’t show it. While it might have been considered a quiet game by his standards, Corbett will surely build from his debut and look to make a bigger impact with his strengths next week.
 

Fiorini flourishing:

In his fourth year of AFL football, Brayden Fiorini is flying. The 21-year-old is a good chance to be leading the club’s Best and Fairest after six rounds and is averaging an impressive 29 disposals per game to date. In QClash17 Fiorini continued his form against the Lions, the club he polled five Brownlow Medal votes against last year.

Fiorini had 31 disposals for the day to go with six marks and a team-high eight tackles. He was a shining light for the SUNS in the loss and fought hard until the final siren. With the team travelling to Perth to take on the Eagles this week, Fiorini will be an important contributor once again if the SUNS are to bring home the four points.

Defence breached:

The Lions put the SUNS defence under siege on Saturday. Through the start of the season, part of Gold Coast’s game plan has been focussed around building a team which is hard to score against, but by sheer weight of possession the Lions were able to overcome the SUNS defences and score freely.

The Lions had 55 inside 50’s for the day compared to the SUNS’ 48, but managed 31 scoring shots to 17. Their efficiency saw them score on over half of their entries inside 50. It will be an area coach Stuart Dew will be keen to fix up this weekend against a West Coast forward line featuring the likes of Josh Kennedy and Jack Darling. The West Coast outfit failed to fire in Round 6 against the Cats with just seven goals and will be hunting redemption come Saturday night.