A severely undermanned Gold Coast SUNS outfit suffered a comprehensive 92-point loss to the West Coast Eagles in Perth on Saturday night. With so many first choice players unavailable, the task was never going to be easy for Rodney Eade’s side and after remaining competitive in the opening term, the middle two quarters did not go to plan.
In just his fourth game back from a knee reconstruction to repair his ruptured posterior cruciate ligament, Tom Nicholls produced one of the finest performances of his career and the best since his return in round four. Opposed to Eagles star ruckman Nic Naitanui, Nicholls fought from the opening bounce, tallying 31 hitouts – 11 to advantage – and a whopping 11 tackles. An extraordinary figure for a ruckman and one that ranked third across the competition for the round.
Dion Prestia once again produced an effort that we have all become accustomed to. In the face of adversity, the young leader was his ever-reliable self. He finished with 27 possessions, 11 clearances and nine tackles to continue his consistent start to 2015.
After a tumultuous week, Harley Bennell started strongly against the Eagles by collecting ten first-quarter possessions. In wet and slippery conditions, he could be excused for poor efficiency given it plagued the entire SUNS outfit. Bennell slowed after half time, finishing on the bench with a knee injury and 23 disposals to his name.
Touk Miller continued his impressive debut season with another eye-catching performance on Saturday night. In just his seventh game, the teenager defied his inexperience to be one of the SUNS cleanest ball users. Miller finished with 21 possessions and eight tackles to be one of Gold Coast’s best, once again.
Who was your best player in round seven? Vote now!
After six rounds, the Gold Coast Fans Player of the Year is led by Michael Rischitelli on 128 votes, ahead of Dion Prestia on 98 votes and Adam Saad on 97.
