It says a little about the elevated expectations and standards of the Gold Coast SUNS that when the final siren blew after their win over Melbourne at the MCG, the players’ reaction was less than overwhelming.

There was none of the jumping for joy which had marked most of the club’s previous 16 wins. The GC SUNS’ 17^th win overall and their second win at the MCG was more about the realisation that if they are to beat teams further up the AFL ladder this year, they’ll need to play better.

Still, there were some significant team and individual statistical achievements worthy of recognition to come out of the club’s sixth win interstate.  The eight-point triumph over Melbourne was the SUNS’ third consecutive win over the Demons, putting them equal at the top of the club’s overall win tally, level with Richmond and GWS Giants. 

The Suns’ 11-20 (86) final score was the club’s fourth-lowest winning score.

Kade Kolodjashni, Sean Lemmens and Tom Nicholls played their first game at the MCG and, with Jaeger O’Meara and Luke Russell, had their first win at the MCG.  Matthew Warnock posted his first win over his former club, and, with Michael Rischitelli, had his first MCG win in SUNS colours.

For Rischitelli it was his first win in his home state as a Gold Coast player at his 11^th outing.  Likewise, it came for Warnock in his sixth ‘homecoming’ game, and Nicholls in his third.

In a statistic that typifies the fluctuating nature of the SUNS’ 2014 campaign, for the third time in five weeks the game figured on the list of big all-time turnarounds. Two positive and one negative.  Last Sunday’s 107-point improvement from their 99-point loss to Hawthorn in round 4 ranks No. 4 on a list headed by the 147-point turnaround when they beat Brisbane by eight points in round 7, 2011, after losing to Essendon by 139 points the week before.

Ironically, in a pointer to the importance placed on the Q-Clash with Brisbane, the 101-point improvement in Round 4 this year, when they beat Brisbane by 53 points after losing to Fremantle by 48 points a week earlier, ranks No.6 on the same list.

Less pleasing is the all-time biggest negative turnaround of 152 points which happened in round 4 this year, when they lost to Hawthorn by 99 points seven days after the 53-point win over Brisbane.

Interestingly, the SUNS won only one quarter against Melbourne. And it wasn’t the first time they’d achieved this unlikely feat. It also happened in their very first win against Port Adelaide in Round 5 2011, when they kicked 6-5 to 1-4 in the final quarter to win by five points after trailing by 28 at three-quarter time.

The 11.20 final score was the SUNS’ worst performance kicking for goal in a win. But their conversation rate of 35.5% wasn’t their worst kicking overall.  It wasn’t even close. No less than seven times have their kicked more inaccurately, headed by their 5-18 (48) at 21.7% against Brisbane at Metricon Stadium in round 17 2012.  And their total of 20 behinds wasn’t a club record. They kicked 21.22 against GWS in Canberra in Round 5 last year.

With Clay Cameron sidelined by a shoulder problem, Gold Coast fielded the equal-smallest Queensland player contingent in club history. Jarrod Harbrow and Rory Thompson were left to fly the flag for their home state, as they did against Hawthorn at the MCG last year, and as Harbrow and Zac Smith did against West Coast in Perth in 2011.

Aaron Hall’s goal against the Demons sees him join Campbell Brown as the SUNS leading goal-kicker all-time at the MCG. They have nine apiece to lead Gary Ablett (8) after the skipper bagged two on Sunday.

Jack Hutchins’ green vest as the starting substitute was his fifth, making him outright third in club history behind Russell (10) and Josh Toy (6). He is now one green vest ahead of Alik Magin, Liam Patrick and Dion Prestia.