Rocket not happy with ugly win

The Gold Coast SUNS may have registered just their third win of the season, but Rodney Eade wasn’t happy with the performance against Brisbane at the Gabba on Saturday night. In his post-match press conference, the veteran mentor said that more than half of his men were poor and were lucky to escape with the 14-point win. Eade’s side was beaten in many of the key indicators – total disposals (423-290), inside 50s (53-43), clearances (40-39) and uncontested ball (294-163) – but still managed to retain the QClash cup. The gulf in midfield personnel was once again a point of concern, with Tom Rockliff, Dayne Zorko, Pearce Hanley, Jack Redden and Daniel Rich all influencing the game more than the SUNS midfield. 

Hall thriving in new midfield role

Since being thrust into the midfield against Adelaide three weeks ago, Aaron Hall has found another gear. The Tasmanian has carved out a career around goal, but with a myriad of class absent in the engine room, Hall has been called upon to perform in the guts. And perform he did on Saturday night, producing a career-best performance against a strong Lions midfield. Hall jumped out of the blocks, collecting nine disposals by the first break before continuing his strong start through to the final siren. He finished with a career-high 28 possessions at an efficiency rate of 82 per cent, to go with eight inside 50s, five tackles and three goal assists. Having missed the entire pre-season due to surgery on his troublesome groins, Hall is a walking example of how important a pre-season is. It has taken him until late in the year to catch up, and with four games to go he is finishing the year with a full head of steam.

Marcus Ashcroft medallist Lynch produces a master class at the Gabba

Another week, another Tom Lynch masterclass. The SUNS spearhead followed up his brilliant mark and goal on the siren against West Coast with a big bag of five – his equal highest haul. In the last three weeks, Lynch has booted 13 goals to take him to 34 for the year and within striking distance of his 2014 tally of 46. But it hasn’t just been his pure numbers that have turned heads. Rather, his ability to turn a game on its head. Lynch’s hands have been as good as any in the game of late and after a fortnight of inaccuracy prior to this three-week burst, he has been reliable in front of goal – kicking the ones that have needed to be kicked. On an underwhelming night for Gold Coast, Lynch was one of only a handful to play four quarters. He plucked four marks in the opening quarter, as well as registering two goals and four score involvements. The sign were ominous early and he ended up carving out another effort that sees him firming as a best and fairest candidate.

Angry May stands up in defence

Steven May continued his strong run of form with another dependable performance down back. The 23-year-old didn’t have a match-up in the same vein that he’d had in recent weeks in Josh Kennedy, Taylor Walker or Jeremy Cameron, but he marshalled a defence that had its work cut out thanks to Brisbane’s dominance in the middle of the ground. May spent the bulk of his night on young key forward Jonathan Freeman who only registered four disposals and one mark. The scalp is clearly not the level of some of the previous names, but you can only deal with the cards that are laid in front of you. Throughout the night, an animated May was involved in a series of heated discussions with not only opponents, but also teammates, typifying his application to the cause. Gold Coast’s effort was down on recent weeks, but May was definitely not one of the culprits.

Dixon overcomes slow start to demonstrate how good forward pairing can be

After a quiet first-half, Charlie Dixon sparked into life to help influence the outcome of the game. The key forward was marked closely by veteran defender Daniel Merrett for the entire game and struggled to get away from him early. He proved his class after the main break with a handful of classy grabs, both above his head and below his knees. Dixon demonstrated how dangerous he and Lynch could be as a forward combination and how they have the potential to be one of the best one-two hits in the game. The pair combined for eight goals, three goal assists, 16 marks - including eight marks taken inside the arc. Dixon’s ability to grind out a difficult start to salvage something from the clash was crucial in the claiming a second QClash win of the season.