Only two players in Gold Coast SUNS history have had 30 possessions and kicked four goals in the same game. Who are they? And what statistically has been the club’s best individual performance?
Partly because Round 19 has been pretty much a bust, and mainly because Saturday is the 300th game in SUNS history. It’s a milestone that warrants prime position in the Round 19 highlights … so we’ll give it due recognition.
That’s not to undervalue Jarrod Witts 100th game for the club in Round 19 2022. He was the 9th of now 22 players to triple figures in red and yellow and the 4th of now six imports to do so. And he did so with 14 possessions, 50 hit-outs and seven tackles as the SUNS lost by 17 points to Brisbane at the Gabba after leading by seven points at three-quarter time.
Likewise, the SUNS’ two Round 19 wins – by 53 points against StKilda at People First Stadium in 2014, and a clinking 14-point Q-Clash win over Brisbane at the Gabba in 2015. Or Alex Sexton’s 150th game which sadly came in a 2021 Gabba Q-Clash when the SUNS led by 27 points and halftime and kicked 1-5 to 13-9 in the second half to lose by 49 points.
But a 2-10 record overall says Round 19 hasn’t exactly been a highlights reel, so the Round 19 flashback is now a recount of the best individual performances on the journey to game #300.
30 Possessions & 4 Goals
There are no prizes for guessing that Gary Ablett is one of the two SUNS players to have had a 30/4 double. The tougher question is how many did he have? It was five. And two of them were an even more rare 40/4 – and came in losses.
The club’s inaugural captain had 42 possessions and kicked four goals in a seven-point loss to North Melbourne at People First Stadium in Round 12 2012, and 41 possessions and 4 goals in a 57-point Football Park loss to Adelaide in Round 8 2011. Both times he polled three medal votes.
Three times he had 30/4 – all in wins and all rewarded with three votes. In 2013 he did so against StKilda and GWS at home, and in 2014 it was StKilda again who felt the full pain of the little master’s brilliance at Marvel Stadium.
The other big statistical double came from a 19-year-old in his 32nd game - and just his second game at the MCG. It was a legitimate Round 19 highlight when Harley Bennell had 38 possessions and kicked four to earn three Brownlow votes in a 42-point loss to Melbourne in 2012.
He took a quick liking to the big stage did Bennell. Having had 15/2 in his only appearance at headquarters in 2011 in three games in 2012 he clocked 28 possessions and four behinds, 31 possessions and his phenomenal 38/4.
Bennell lodged another nomination for ‘best statistical individual performance’ in Round 14 2014 against Geelong at PFS, when he had 27 possessions and kicked a career-best six goals to spearhead a magnificent 40-point win after they’d trailed by 17 points 10 minutes after halftime. He kicked three goals in a 7-4 to 2-5 SUNS blitz in the final stanza
The Tough Comparison?
How do you compare the worth of a game of 30 possessions and four goals with one of fewer possessions and more goals?
It’s a question that can really only be answered in the context of a game, but Tom Lynch would argue that 21 possessions and a club record eight goals is more valuable. As it was in his last season at the SUNS in 2019, when he spearheaded a 34-point Round 2 Marvel win over Carlton in Sam Day’s 100th game and Stuart Dew’s second game as coach. Three votes.
Lynch also bagged 19 possessions and seven goals against Calton at Marvel in Round 4 2017 in another SUNS win worth another three votes, while Charlie Dixon completed the “seven plus” nominations for best individual performance when he had 15 possessions and a career-best seven goals against North Melbourne at PFS in 2014.
Six Goals Plus
There have been four games of six goals in SUNS history on top of Harley Bennell’s 27/6 that should be top bracket of best individual performances statistically. Charlie Dixon had six and 16 in 2013 and six and 19 in 2015 - each worth three votes in a win – while Brandon Matera’s 19/6 in a 2017 win and Alex Sexton’s 14/6 in a 2022 loss were worth one vote.
Five Goals Plus
Eleven SUNS players have kicked five goals in a game a total of 22 times – Tom Lynch (6), Ben King (4), Jack Lukosius (4), Alex Sexton (1), Peter Wright (1), Aaron Hall (1), Callum AhChee (1), Mabior Chol (1), Joel Jeffrey (1), Bailey Humphrey (1) and Nathan Krakouer (1).
Statistically, Wright’s five goals and 20 possessions in a three-vote win in 2016 to statistically rank best of these, while Nathan Krakouer’s five goals and 16 possessions is also fondly remembered because it came in Q-Clash #1 in 2011 as the SUNS beat the Lions by eight points at the Gabba.
Forty Possessions
While Gary Ablett’s club record 53 possessions against Collingwood at the MCG in 2012 is going to take some beating, there have been 22 games of 40 possessions-plus. Ablett had 15 of them and Aaron Hall two, with Dion Prestia, Brandon Ellis, Noah Anderson, Brayden Fiorini and Sam Flanders one each.
Thirty Possessions
Gary Ablett has had more 30-possessions games than any other player in AFL history, since they started counting them in 1965. In 357 games he topped 30 no less than 126 times, with 22 games of 40-plus and his 53-possession outing for the SUNS against Collingwood at the MCG in 2012, which is the club record. That means he topped 30 once in every 2.83 games.
Six other players have more than 100 games of 30-plus – Sam Mitchell (121 @ ave 2.72), Robert Harvey (118 @ 3.25), Scott Pendlebury (116 @ 3.41), Lachie Neale (110 @ 2.36), Dane Swan (258 @ 2.39) and Jack Macrae (106 @ 2.29).
So what does that say to SUNS fans? It says ‘be grateful for the extraordinary ball-winning capabilities of Ablett during his time at the club’. Because in 110 games in red and yellow he topped 30 no less than 64 times, with 15 games of 40-plus and his 53.
That’s an average of one 30-possesion game every 1.72 games … significantly better than the career record of the best of the rest listed above.
Touk Miller (41) is second on the SUNS’ 30-possession games list from Noah Anderson (23), David Swallow (15), Brayden Fiorini (15), Dion Prestia (15), Sam Flanders (13), Aaron Hall (11), Michael Rischitelli (8), Jarrod Harbrow (8) and Harley Bennell (7).
Most Contested Possessions
It’s the starting point of football … the contested possession. And Matt Rowell, the ‘raging bull’ of the current side, has thrown down a challenge to the best of the best. Gary Ablett twice had 27 contested possessions for the SUNS to hold the club record, but Rowell’s 26 in the season-opener against Richmond this year is equal second-best.
Jarryd Lyons also had 26 CPs, while Ablett owns the next two at 25 and 24. Then it’s Ablett, Rowell and Lyons at 23 ahead of six 22’s – Ablett (2), Rowell (2), Touk Miller (2), Lyons, Mitch Hallahan and David Swallow.
The AFL record is Ben Cunnington’s 32 for North Melbourne in 2018.
Most Uncontested Possessions
A critical part of the run and spread game that dominates football these days, this is another category headed by Gary Ablett with 33 and 32. Noah Anderson’s 31 uncontested possessions against Geelong in Darwin this year saw him Aaron Hall and Brandon Ellis on the third line, with Hall, Ellis and Jarrod Harbrow at 29, from Ablett (2), Touk Miller and Dion Prestia at 28.
The AFL record for uncontested possessions is Joel Bowden’s 41 for Richmond in 2009.
Most Clearances
Matt Rowell’s astonishing 20-clearance game against Richmond in the same game he had 26 contested possessions earlier this year is the club best, and second-best in the AFL all-time since clearance statistics were first kept in 1998.
Paul Salmon, a full forward turned ruckman who is a Hawthorn Team of the Century member and an Essendon Hall of Famer, holds the League record at 22 playing in the ruck for Hawthorn in 1998. His next best was 11.
Others on the SUNS top clearances list are Gary Ablett (18), Rowell (16), Touk Miller (15), Mitch Hallahan (15), Ablett (15), Jared Brennan (14) and Jarryd Lyons (14).
Most Tackles
Matt Rowell and Gary Ablett share the SUNS single-game tackling record at 17. Hugh Greenwood had a 16-tackle game, while Rowell also clocked a 15-tackle game, and there have been six games of 14 tackles – Nick Holman (2), Ablett, Greenwood, Touk Miller and Will Graham.
The AFL record in games since 1987 is 20 tackles to the credit of Adelaide’s Rory Laird in 2022.
Most Marks
It’s not quite the statistic it was in the distant past, with a lot of players in the back half picking up countless cheap uncontested marks these days to inflate overall numbers, but it’s still a statistic of interest.
That said, the SUNS’ record of 16 marks is in part due to this very thing. It is 16 set by Brandon Ellis in 2021, and equalled by forward turned defender Alex Sexton against StKilda at Marvel Stadium in Round 13 this year. Neither player had a contested mark in their 16.
Charlie Ballard (15) is next from nine players who each have taken 14 marks in a game - Jack Lukosius, Jack Bowes, Jacob Dawson, Ben Ainsworth, Oleg Markov, Lachie Weller, Brandon Ellis, Tom Lynch and Steven May (3 times).
The AFL record is 24 marks shared by the Western Bulldogs’ Brian Lake in 2007 and Melbourne’s Greg Parke in 1970.
Most Contested Marks
Introduced in 1999, this is statistic of more interest to AFL coaches. Charlie Ballard holds the SUNS record at eight, set against West Coast last year after it had stood at seven to the credit of Tom Hickey in his fifth game in 2012. Ballard, Tom Lynch (twice) and Sam Day have each had six, with Day joining this group against North Melbourne in Round 17, when he was injured and subbed out during the third quarter.
There have been 10 games ahead of Ballard’s eight contested marks. Ex-North champion Wayne Carey holds the League record at 10, with Richmond’s Matthew Richardson (twice) and Brad Ottens, Brisbane’s Daniel Bradshaw, Essendon’s Matthew Lloyd, Port’s Chad Cornes, Sydney’s Barry Hall, North’s Drew Petrie and the Bulldogs’ Aaron Naughton at nine.
Marks Inside 50
Levi Casboult needed only seven games with the SUNS in 2022 to write himself into the club record books, taking seven marks inside the forward 50m zone. This equalled the club best of Tom Lynch set twice in 2016. Lynch (four times), Ben King (twice), Charlie Dixon (twice), Peter Wright (twice), Josh Corbett and Jack Martin each had six marks inside 50.
The League record is Scott Cummings’ 14 for West Coast in 2000 – one ahead of StKilda’s Gold Coaster Nick Riewoldt, Brisbane’s Jonathan Brown and Sydney’s Lance Franklin.
Most One-Percenters
The collective term for spoils, smothers and other defensive pressure acts and introduced to the AFL in 1999, this record is held for the SUNS at 17 by Rory Thompson and Steven May. Sam Collins (twice), Caleb Graham (twice), Matthew Warnock, Thompson and May each had games of 16. The AFL record of 25 – three ahead of best - is 22 to the credit of Brisbane’s Harris Andrews and unheralded Carlton defender Lewis Young.
Most Handballs
In Brandon Ellis’ career-best 41 possessions against GWS in 2021 he had a SUNS’ record 29 handballs. That was six short of the AFL record of 35 set by Adelaide’s Matt Crouch in 2018. Touk Miller (27), Gary Ablett (27), Noah Anderson (24), Miller (23), Michael Barlow (23) and Ablett (23 x 3) are next on the list.
Most Hit-Outs
The official AFL records list the top 20 hit-out counts in a single game for the SUNS, and cover off only one player. Jarrod Witts owns the top 20, ranging a club record 69 against GWS in 2019, through 17 games of 50-plus, down to 48. Best for the SUNS from other players is Ned Moyle (42), Zac Smith (39), Tom Nicholls (37) and Daniel Currie (37). The AFL record is Todd Goldstein’s 80 hit-outs for North in 2015, with Witts’ 69 equal fifth on the all-time list.
Most Running Bounces
This is the oldest listing in the SUNS record books, standing since Round 22 2011 when set by original vice-captain Nathan Bock at 12. It was subsequently equalled twice by Adam Saad in 2015 and 2017. Oleg Markov and Saad also had games of 10 bounces. Bock also holds the all-time AFL record of 20 bounces, set in 2009 in his days at Adelaide.
Most Goal Assists
While the SUNS’ recurring trips to Darwin have proved good for most things SUNS, they have been extra good for Jack Lukosius. Not only has he kicked three of his four five-goal bags in the NT capital, but in Round 11 against Geelong this year, when he kicked five, he also gave off five direct goal assists – a SUNS record.
This added one to the previous best of Brandon Matera, Tom Lynch (twice), Alex Sexton, Gary Ablett, Nick Malceski and Ben Ainsworth, and Jake Rogers in his second game this year..
The AFL record is six to Geelong’s Steve Johnson and Travis Varcoe, and Carlton’s Chris Judd.
Most Behinds
A record that nobody really wants, this is five behinds and is held for the SUNS by Tom Lynch (twice) and Alex Sexton at five. A multitude of players have kicked four but only three did so without at least one goal to go with it – Sean Lemmens, Brandon Matera and Harley Bennell.
Most 100% Game Time
Otherwise known as the ‘Sam Collins Merit Certificate for Endurance’, this is something entirely foreign to all by 23 SUNS players all-time, and a mark that only 10 players have done more than three times.
Collins, the original ‘Mr Indestructable’, has played every second of the game 42 times in his 107 games for the club. Others in the top 10 are Tom Lynch (12), Charlie Ballard (10), Rory Thompson (9), Matthew Warnock (9), Steven May (8), Levi Casboult (7) and Nathan Bock (6), Caleb Graham (5) and Seb Tape (5).
