Amid a disappointing afternoon in Perth on Saturday, Tom Lynch posted a notable statistical double which has earned him two further places in the Gold Coast SUNS’ record books.

Lynch had five of the GC SUNS’ six marks inside 50 in the heart-breaking three-point loss to the West Coast Eagles to post a club record for most marks inside 50 in a season.

Now with 32 marks inside 50 in 2014, he has bettered the previous SUNS single-season best of 30 set by Campbell Brown in 2012, and there are still 10 games to play this year.

Lynch also had four of the SUNS’ nine goal assists to equal the club-best for a single game, set by Brandon Matera against Geelong in 2012.

But the big record that coach Guy McKenna and his team wanted most, and which looked to be right on the cards late in the game, eluded them. That was one for the biggest final quarter comeback win.

The SUNS, down by 35 points at three-quarter time, kicked six goals in a row to hit the front at the 19-minute mark of the final stanza.

If they’d hung on it would have topped the stunning final quarter turnaround from their very first AFL win, when they reeled in a 28-point deficit at the last change and turned that in to a three-point win over Port Adelaide at Football Park in round 5, 2011.

It wasn’t to be. A goal to Jeremy McGovern at the 23-minute mark put the Eagles back in front, and despite a string of SUNS forward thrusts and behinds to Harley Bennell and Gary Ablett (a poster), the home side hung on for the last eight minutes to win.

The biggest deficit overall that the SUNS have turned into a win in their first 78 games was in the same game as their final quarter heroics against Port in 2011. They trailed by 40 points shortly before three-quarter time before goals to Ablett and Luke Russell just prior to the final break cut it to 28 points, and a 6-5 to 1-4 final quarter got them home.

The biggest halftime deficit they’ve converted to a win was 23 points in the same game against Port, and their best win from a big quarter-time deficit was when they trailed Richmond by 36 points in Cairns in 2011 and won by 15.

It provides small comfort, but despite falling just short of the winning post on Saturday, Gold Coast did post a club record for the best final quarter ‘win’ when they out-scored the Eagles by 32 points. This surpassed the 31-point ‘win’ in that same historic game against Port in 2011.

Other noteworthy statistics to come out of the SUNS’ loss on Saturday were:-

• Matt Shaw, in his 64th game, became the ninth player at the club to reach 1,000 possessions. He joins Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia, Jarrod Harbrow, Danny Stanley, David Swallow, Harley Bennell, Trent McKenzie and Michael Rischitelli in the ‘1,000 Club’
• Greg Broughton, in his 29th SUNS game, and Sam Day, in his 54th game, became the 20th and 21st players to 500 possessions
• Jaeger O’Meara played his 34th consecutive game to equal the club record set by Harley Bennell between 2011-13. Trent McKenzie and Danny Stanley played their 30th game in a row
• The SUNS’ final score of 15-10 (100) was the 13th time they have reached triple figures and the second-highest losing score all-time, behind the score of 113 points in the corresponding match in round 19 last year
• Dion Prestia’s 38 possessions was a club record at Patersons Stadium, topping Gary Ablett’s 34 possessions against Fremantle in round 15, 2012. Prestia’s season-high 18 contested possessions on Saturday was one shy of a personal best
• Three goals each to Charlie Dixon and Tom Lynch on Saturday saw them equal Alex Sexton’s single-game club record against West Coast and join Gary Ablett as the SUNS’ leading goal-kicker all-time against West Coast with five
• Michael Rischitelli’s five tackles against West Coast saw him become the second SUNS player to 250 for the club behind Gary Ablett (389). Dion Prestia, who also had five tackles on Saturday, is on 249 career tackles
• Gary Ablett’s 11 clearances on Saturday was the second-highest game tally for the club this year behind his own 12 against the GWS Giants in Round 6. Zac Smith had a career-best seven clearances againstthe Eagles.
• Alex Sexton started in the green substitute’s vest for the fifth time, moving to equal 4th on the all-time club list. He’s level with Matt Shaw, and behind only Luke Russell (11), Josh Toy (6) and Jack Hutchins (6)
• Aaron Hall finished in the red substitute’s vest for a fifth time to equal the club record of Charlie Dixon and Seb Tape
• Josh Kennedy’s seven goals for West Coast was the equal second-highest tally by an opposition player against Gold Coast. He matched the efforts of Geelong’s Steve Johnson (2011) and St Kilda’s Nick Riewoldt (2012), which have only been bettered by Kyle Reimers’ eight goals for Essendon against the SUNS at Etihad Stadium in round 6, 2011