An undermanned Gold Coast SUNS suffered a 92-point loss at the hands of a healthy Brisbane Lions outfit at Burpengary on Saturday.
Despite the comfortable win, the Lions will be rueing the missed opportunities which saw them end with the slightly disappointing score line of 12.24 (96) to the Gold Coast’s 0.4 (4).
Their inaccuracy aside, Lions’ coach Mitch Hahn was altogether pleased with his team’s dominant performance after their week off in Round 5.
For the SUNS, it was tough going from the outset, naming only 11 AFL-listed players to Brisbane’s 19.
Their fortunes then took a further turn for the worse in the second quarter when Mackenzie Willis went down after a tackle, clutching his knee and having to be assisted from the field.
He didn’t emerge from the sheds until partway through the third term – with his right knee wrapped and a pair of crutches under his arms – meaning the Gold Coast were left to play over half the game with only 10 AFL-listed players.
While his team came away with the four points, Hahn did empathise with the Gold Coast’s injury woes.
“In all, it’s a pretty hard game to judge in terms of the opposition copping a couple of injuries early, which made it really hard for them,” he said.
“We had a lot of AFL experience in our team today; there was 878 games of AFL experience.”
The energy and dedication displayed by the Lions today may in part be attributable to the inspiration they gained in seeing Matt Eagles and Oscar McInerney achieve their AFL debuts over the last few weeks.
For the SUNS, it was young Jacob Dawson who led the way and pushed his own case for an AFL debut not too far down the track.
The 18-year-old lodged an impressive 31 disposals, three marks, five tackles and five clearances in his side’s tough loss.
To stay in touch with the top of the table, the SUNS will have to regroup quickly before they head to the Northern Territory to take on the Thunder.
Brisbane Lions v Gold Coast SUNS at Moreton Bay Central Sports Complex
BRISBANE 3.5 6.11 8.20 12.24 (96)
GOLD COAST 0.2 0.2 0.4 0.4 (4)
GOALS – Brisbane: R Lester 2 J Walker 2 M Paparone 1 T Bell 1 B Keays 1 C Beams 1 J Barrett 1 C Ballenden 1 A Smith 1 M Hinge 1.
BEST – Brisbane: R Lester J Walker R Bewick R Bastinac S Mayes C Ballenden. Gold Coast: J Dawson J Schoenfeld J Scrimshaw
