On paper it was always going to be an extremely tough task, and it proved to be precisely that on Saturday night in Perth. Gold Coast SUNS coach Rodney Eade believes the gulf in experience and talent meant his side was always going to be up against it facing an in-form West Coast Eagles at Domain Stadium.
 
With a plethora of first-choice players unavailable through injury and suspension, the trip west was never going to be easy. And when you consider the calibre of names on the sidelines in Gary Ablett, Jaeger O’Meara, Nick Malceski, David Swallow, Steven May, Tom Lynch, Rory Thompson and Jack Martin, you can mount an argument for most sides struggling to cope with that absence of class.
 
Despite the talent and inexperience gap – nine players with less than 25 games experience – Gold Coast were still able to win a handful of key indicators. The SUNS won the clearances (+21), tackles (+25) and narrowly lost the contested ball count (-8). All areas that typically result in four premiership points. Not 92-point drubbings.
 
“So you think on the surface of those figures – except for the third quarter was obviously poor – but the effort was pretty good,” Eade told the media at his post-match press conference at Domain Stadium on Saturday night.
 
“I mean it was just a gulf in experience and a gulf in talent. Obviously age and the number of games played they were way ahead of us.
 
“But you could just see they were cleaner with the ball, we made errors gave them chances, they actually created chances themselves and were able to take them because of their talent.
 
“There was just a real talent gulf and when you look at the players we had out there was always going to be a chance that that was going to happen.”
 
One of the major beneficiaries of the dire injury situation at Metricon Stadium is the young, inexperienced players who are being exposed to the highest level when they wouldn’t have been if everyone were available for selection.
 
In the absence of May and Thompson, Henry Schade and Jack Leslie occupied the key posts in defence. Given the avalanche of inside 50s (67-24), the pair was inundated by opposition attacks, which made their lives particularly difficult.
 
Whilst the scoreboard was far from flattering, Eade was pleased with the manner in which Schade and Leslie coped under extreme pressure and without experienced, wiser heads around them.
 
“I felt sorry for some of our defenders, Leslie had played two games, Schade had played three, the third quarter was like an air raid shelter,” Eade said.
 
“I think to the kids' credit they really kept contesting and as a positive they really stuck to their task. So there were some positives to come out of it.
 
“Really in the end, coming over here with a real age and game deficit and I think in the end a talent deficit really made the difference.”