Tom Lynch has set a new benchmark for himself and all power forwards at the Gold Coast SUNS, and not just because of his career-best five-goal haul in Saturday’s round 6 win over the GWS Giants at Metricon Stadium.

Lynch’s match-winning haul was a record for the SUNS at Metricon, topping the previous best of four set by Gary Ablett (three times), Lynch, Sam Day and Andrew Boston, and was a record overall for Suns players aged 21 or younger.

It was equal second-best on the club’s all-time single game goal-kicking list – one behind Charlie Dixon’s club record of six against the Giants in Canberra in 2013, and level with the five-goal hauls of Nathan Krakouer in 2011 and Aaron Hall in 2013.

It took Lynch to the top of the SUNS goal-kicking list this year with 12, leap-frogging Gary Ablett and Sam Day (10), and puts him in genuine contention to end Ablett’s reign as the club’s leading goal-kicker in 2012 and 2013.

Also, Lynch’s tally of five marks inside forward 50 was just one behind Dixon’s club record six against the Giants  last year, and his five contested marks were an equal-career best and second only on the SUNS list behind Tom Hickey’s seven in 2012.

Lynch shared the SUNS’ statistical headlines on Saturday with the incomparable Gary Ablett, and the club’s all-time best early season win/loss record of 4-2 and their record high ladder position of sixth.

Continuing to set astonishing standards, the mercurial Ablett had 21 contested possessions, 12 clearances and 11 tackles to go with his 30 possessions and two goals against the Giants.  His monstrous contested possession haul took his SUNS aggregate for this critical statistic to 1016.  Next best on the club record books is David Swallow at 538.

His tackle count and clearance tally were his second-best efforts for the SUNS, while Swallow, with 17 contested possessions against the Giants, and Jaeger O’Meara with 16, both posted personal bests.

In other significant milestones on Saturday, Michael Rischitelli became the eighth player to post 1000 possessions for the club behind Gary Ablett (2135), Danny Stanley (1242), Jarrod Harbrow (1241), Dion Prestia (1233), David Swallow (1137), Trent McKenzie (1112) and Harley Bennell (1107).

Aaron Hall became the 18^th player to 500 SUNS possessions, and Swallow the eighth player to 500 SUNS possessions at Metricon.

Rory Thompson, deployed as a pinch-hitting ruckman against GWS following the late withdrawal of Tom Nicholls, had a career-best 22 hit-outs to almost double his career total.  His previous best in a game was five in a career total of 28 hit-outs through his first 38 games.

Steven May had four bounces against the Giants – double his previous best .

Greg Broughton has become the quickest SUNS player to 10 wins for the club, reaching this milestone in his 23^rd game. Jaeger O’Meara was previously quickest in 25 games. Luke Russell also enjoyed his 10^th win on Saturday in his 47^th game. 

Ablett and Jarrod Harbrow continued their unblemished record of having played in each of the club’s 11 wins at Metricon. They also assumed in-house bragging rights for most wins at the venue from SUNS football chief Marcus Ashcroft, who had 10 wins there with the Brisbane Bears early in his 318-game career.

The win over the Giants was the club’s fourth, jumping the fellow expansion club to the top of the SUNS’ all-time ‘kill list’ ahead of three wins against Melbourne and Richmond.

Their score of 20-14 (134) was the SUNS’ third-highest all-time and the second-highest at Metricon.  Their second half total of 12-6 (78) was an equal-club best for any half in their 78-game history, matching the second stanza total against Brisbane in round 3 this year.

Their 37-point scoring advantage over the Giants in the first quarter was the SUNS’ second-best single-quarter ‘win’ all-time behind their 39-point second quarter domination of Richmond in Cairns in 2011.  It was the eighth time overall and the third time in four home games this year that the Suns have led at every change and won.

Also, the team tally of 72 forward 50 entries against GWS was an all-time club best, topping the 66 against North Melbourne at Metricon last year.