The Gold Coast SUNS have now played 276 quarters of football in the AFL, but nothing has been as dominant or exhilarating as the 25-minute burst from mid-way through the third quarter of Saturday’s QClash 7 triumph over the Brisbane Lions at Metricon Stadium.  

The GC SUNS kicked eight unanswered goals from the 15-minute mark of the third term to the nine-minute mark of the final quarter.  This eclipsed the club’s previous best run of six unanswered goals, which had become something of an unsurmountable hurdle since it was first posted in the club’s debut season.

Also, for the first time in club history the SUNS have won four games in a row at Metricon.  This takes in wins over Melbourne and GWS Giants in rounds 20 and 23 last year, as well as Richmond and Brisbane in rounds 1 and 3 this year.

For just the second time in club history they won each quarter of a match, following on from a similar feat against GWS at Metricon to close out the 2013 season. 

It was the seventh time the SUNS have led at every change and won, and the second time in as many games at Metricon this year they’ve achieved this feat.

Interestingly, in seven QClashes, the winner has led at every change each time.

It was all part of a brutal assault on the SUNS and Q-Clash record books which sees the club sitting 8^th on the AFL ladder three games into the 2014 season.  It’s only the second time the SUNS have been inside the top eight. The only previous time was when they were 7^th after a Round 1 win over St.Kilda last year.

Seven times previously Gold Coast had kicked six consecutive goals: against Richmond in Cairns in 2011 and 2012; GWS in Canberra in 2012; Carlton at Metricon in 2012; and GWS, Western Bulldogs and Melbourne at Metricon in 2013.  The record run was sparked when David Swallow accepted a handpass from Gary Ablett and slotted it magnificently from 50m near the boundary line.  This was followed by goals from Brandon Matera, Sean Lemmens, Swallow again and Kade Kolodashnij before three-quarter time, and then Sam Day, Matt Shaw and Tom Lynch before the Lions managed to reply midway through the final quarter.

Teenagers Lemmens and Kolodashnij, enjoying a wonderful start to their AFL career after only joining he club last November, each posted their first AFL major in the eight-goal onslaught.

In a flow-on effect from this powerhouse period, the SUNS’ second half on Saturday of 12-6 (78) was the highest score in a half. It surpassed the 11-10 (77) they kicked in the second half against the Giants in Canberra last year.

The SUNS’ third-quarter score of 7-4 (46) was their highest in QClash history and their fourth highest overall, behind an 8-4 (42) final quarter against the Giants in Canberra last year.

The 53-point winning margin was the club’s third biggest overall and the second-biggest at Metricon, and the 114-point final score was the club’s equal fourth highest overall and the second-highest at Metricon.

The SUNS’ highest score overall is 148 points against GWS in Canberra last year, while their highest score at Metricon is 146 against the Giants last year, when they posted a club record 83-point win.

Brisbane’s final score of 9-7 (61) on Saturday was the equal fifth-lowest recorded against Gold Coast and the equal third-lowest against the SUNS at Metricon.

Also, the visitors total of 16 scoring shots in the second-lowest in a Suns match at Carrara, behind only North Melbourne’s 11 last year.

Almost predictably, skipper Ablett led the individual record book assault.  His 38 possessions, which made him the first player to win the Marcus Ashcroft Medal twice, was a Q-Clash record. It surpassed his own previous record of 37 possessions, which was equalled on Saturday by the Lions’ Tom Rockliff.

Ablett’s 38^th 30-possession haul in 64 games for the Suns also saw him become the first player in history to total 1000 possessions at Carrara/Metricon.

But less predictable was Ablett’s inspirational effort of 10 tackles, which equalled the QClash record set by Michael Rischitelli in QClash 1 at the Gabba in 2011.

Also, Ablett and Dion Prestia each collected 19 contested possessions on Saturday – the second highest in a QClash behind only Jared Brennan’s 21 contested possessions for the SUNS against his former club in QClash 1.

In a significant pointer of more good times to come, SUNS key forward Sam Day kicked four goals on Saturday. It was a personal best for the 21-year-old, a record for Gold Coast in a QClash, and an equal club record at Metricon.  Ablett (three times), Tom Lynch and Andrew Boston have also kicked four goals in a match at home.

Three matches into the 2014 campaign Day has kicked eight goals. This is the best start to a season by a Suns player, having surpassed Ablett’s six goals in Rounds 1-3 in 2012 and Charlie Dixon’s five-goal start to 2013.

Appropriately, the crowd on Saturday of 16,593 was a record for QClash at Metricon.