SUNS on a Shaw Thing
It was one of the fiercely contested matches of the season, played in wet, slippery and testing conditions at Metricon Stadium, however while most on-field struggled to take or maintain possession, underrated Gold Coast SUNS wingman Matt Shaw, ran and handled the Sherrin better than most on a dry night.
Impressive in every appearance for the Club so far this season, Shaw once again played an instrumental role in the GCSUNS fifth victory of the season, amassing a total of 23 touches as the home team leapfrogged North Melbourne on the Premiership ladder with a 15-point victory.
While Shaw's workaholic pursuit of the contested football has largely flown under the radar this season, his accuracy and 82% disposal efficiency in heavy rain is sure to have opposition coaches paying more attention to him during the second half of the Premiership season.
“Sometimes you have some good nights and sometimes you can have some bad, and so I guess tonight I was lucky enough to have a good night.”
Although Shaw couldn't quite pin down what factored in his efficient performance against the fast-starting Kangaroos, his desire to perfect even the tiniest of blemishes in his game was a likely contributor in last night's match.
“I think it really just comes down with doing the extras in the week,” he said.
“All the boys do all the minor one-percenters and ground balls and I think on night’s like that it just really pays off.”
And while it might have looked dire for those in attendance after the Kangas bounded away to an early margin to 25-points during the opening quarter, Shaw says the Gold Coasts ability to flex their muscles when the going gets tough was always going to give them an opportunity to kick the winning score.
“We just kept talking and eventually was able to product a great team effort,” Shaw said.
“We set up well, stuck to our structure and played simple footy, and thankfully the hard work paid off in the end."