Injury toll continues to penetrate Metricon Stadium

2015 is the year of the injury plague. It’s been official for quite some time now, and it spread its wings again on Sunday afternoon on the MCG. The first to go was Charlie Dixon who re-aggravated his troublesome ankle for not the first time this season. The spearhead landed awkwardly on it halfway through the second quarter, but played out the game with restricted movement and output. Tom Nicholls was next to go with the ruckman hurting his knee before the main break, forcing him to be substituted out of the game at half time. Early indications are that the injury is to his PCL, but scans will confirm the extent of the damage on Monday. Given Nicholls injured his PCL last year, and at the more severe end of the spectrum, it is a worrying concern. Jack Martin was the other casualty having been carried from the ground on a stretcher after a sickening head clash just after half time left him with concussion and a decent cut to his head.

Hall adds another layer to his transformation

Aaron Hall was at it once again on the weekend. The crafty small forward has transformed himself into a dependable midfielder in the last month with a blend of tough inside work and polished outside class. Hall burst out of the blocks against the Tigers, collecting nine disposals in the opening quarter to go with a moment of individual brilliance that saw him burst away from a centre stoppage, take two bounces before kicking a goal from just beyond the arc. For the fourth consecutive week, Hall thrived in the middle to equal or better his career-high for possessions. The Tasmanian collected 29 possessions (14 contested), seven inside 50s and seven clearances to be one of the SUNS' best on a disappointing day for Rodney Eade’s side. Hall also accumulated enormous mileage on the MCG with 831 metres of gained territory – the most of any player in round 20 by a staggering 134 metres.

Tigers blow SUNS away in second half

For the duration of the opening half, Gold Coast remained within touching distance of a Richmond outfit that were just going. The Tigers only registered their second goal of the game in time on of the opening term, before slamming on another four before the siren. The SUNS then won the second quarter 3.3 to 2.1 and the margin could have been reduced even more had Tom Lynch converted a gettable goal just before the main break. With Nicholls off, Dixon on one leg and Martin’s day ending shortly after half-time, the Tigers put their foot down and piled on 14 goals to three in the second half to fatten up their percentage column and run away with an easy victory. Richmond’s class factor through the middle of the ground was decisive in the result with Dustin Martin (29 disposals and three goals), Brandon Ellis (29 disposals), Trent Cotchin (28 disposals), Kane Lambert (27 disposals and two goals) and Brett Deledio (21 disposals and three goals) all going to work.

May adds Riewoldt scalp to 2015 bounty

Amid a frustrating season in Carrara, Gold Coast’s bookends – Tom Lynch and Steven May – have followed up breakout 2014 campaigns with equally as impressive seasons. May took a little bit of time to get going this year, but his form since the bye has been first class. Opposed to Jack Riewoldt, a man with two Coleman medals tucked inside his trophy cabinet, and who was sitting in fourth spot in the coveted goal-kicking prize, the SUNS key defender nullified his influence on the game with another close marking effort. May collected 18 possessions, eight rebound 50s and six spoils, as well as holding the Tigers star to just two goals, with both goals no fault of May’s. The first was the result of a defensive error further up the ground and the second was a kick off the ground in red time in the final quarter. Given the hiding, it’s scary to think what could have happened had May not been inside defensive 50 on Sunday.

Another week, another classic Lynch effort

At the other end of the ground, Tom Lynch continued his rich vein of form with another strong performance. Errant kicking in front of goal was a blemish on his day, with a couple of gettable misses preventing him from walking away with another five-goal haul for the second consecutive week. He finished with 3.3 from 17 possessions and 11 marks – five of which were taken inside 50. Troy Chaplin went with him for the duration of the day, with Alex Rance marking the bigger body of Charlie Dixon. Lynch accounted for Chaplin with his ability to cover the big ground and his strong hands that plucked most things that came in his direction. Lynch also went behind the ball at times to try and stem the bleeding and remain in the game. Once a full complement of midfielders return next season, Lynch could prosper even further with better delivery and more opportunity given the sizeable inside 50 discrepancy. At this stage of the year, and in a bad year, dare to dream.