The Gold Coast SUNS Winter Series side were overcome by the GWS Giants in their first ever match, going down 7.8 (50) to 2.3 (15) in wet conditions at Tom Wills oval. 

The rain falling in Sydney’s west dictated the majority of how the game was played, with ball movement made difficult and tackles becoming crucial.

The SUNS put an emphasis on forward pressure throughout the day and were able to execute more often as the game wore on. 

“The first style of play (was) that we really wanted to run and carry and use the hands, that didn’t bode well for the style of play we needed with the weather,” Winter Series head coach Michael Gugliotta told SUNS TV post-match.

 “As the game went on though we encouraged to kick long, carry and our forwards could really produce a target and bring it to ground.”

Emma Aeschlimann was a standout in the midfield for the SUNS and proved she had the ability to compete at a higher level.

Meanwhile Jenae Govan etched her name into the record books when she kicked the SUNS’ first ever women’s goal in the opening quarter of the match.

“We had a number that surprised us as far as we knew what they could offer but wanted to see if they could do it at the standard it was today,” Gugliotta said.

“That last quarter was everything we wanted to put together on the park all at once.” 

While it was a historic day for the club, there are still plenty of learnings the women will take out of the match. 

The SUNS have two weeks of training before their next match on June 24 at Southport.

“We’ll review as best we can,” Gugliotta said.

“We’ll just be reinforcing what we’ve been coaching over the past couple of weeks.”