By Nathan Schmook
West Coast has survived an impressive second-half surge from Gold Coast SUNS at Patersons Stadium, hanging on to win by 18 points in a pulsating clash on Saturday afternoon.
The GC SUNS appeared set for a thrashing early, with West Coast booting the opening six goals of the match in a ruthless 14-minute burst.
But the GC SUNS lifted in captain Gary Ablett's 200th match and held their own thereafter, with the match only settled 21 minutes into the final term when Nic Naitanui soared over teammate Dean Cox in the goalsquare to kick the match-winner.
The Eagles notched their sixth win of the season 13.7 (85) to 10.7 (67), but it was a below-par performance from John Worsfold's men, based on the standard they have set in a resurgent season.
Ablett (32 possessions, eight clearances and two goals) was superb in his milestone game, while midfielder Michael Rischitelli (25 possessions and seven clearances) and courageous defender Campbell Brown were solid contributors.
They drove a second-half surge that saw the GC SUNS go inside 50 an impressive 29 times to the Eagles' 13, outscoring the home side by 14 points.
Their round five win over Port Adelaide aside, it was the GC SUNS most impressive performance on the road, but they were unable to convert their second half dominance on the scoreboard.
West Coast was well served by ruckman Dean Cox (26 possessions, 28 hit-outs and two goals) and Mark LeCras (28 possessions, seven clearances and two goals), who continued a solid run of form in the midfield.
The Eagles, who celebrated Matt Rosa's 100th match, could sit as high as fifth on the ladder by the conclusion of round 11.
West Coast 7.3 10.6 11.7 13.7 (85)
Gold Coast 3.3 5.4 9.6 10.7 (67)
GOALS
West Coast: Kennedy 4, Cox 2, LeCras 2, Naitanui 2, S Selwood, Sheppard, Lynch
Gold Coast: Ablett 2, Smith, Lynch, Day, Rischitelli, Fraser, Prestia, Lynch, McKenzie
BEST
West Coast: Cox, Hurn, Priddis, LeCras, Glass, Rosa, Kennedy
Gold Coast: Ablett, Rischitelli, Brown, Bennell, Smith, Iles
INJURIES
West Coast: Daniel Kerr (glute) replaced in selected side by Tom Swift, Luke Shuey (thigh)
Gold Coast: Nil
SUBSTITUTIONS
West Coast: Tom Swift substituted for Andrew Strijk in the third quarter
Gold Coast: Taylor Hine substituted for Dion Prestia in the second quarter
Reports: David Swallow (GC) in the first quarter for rough conduct, Jack Darling (WCE) in the third quarter for head high contact
Umpires: Margetts, Bowen, Wenn
Official crowd: 36,815 at Patersons Stadium
THE NEXT FOUR
West Coast: The Eagles now have a month where they could maintain touch with the top four starting with Adelaide (AAMI) followed by Port Adelaide (Patersons) and Carlton (Etihad) prior to the round 15 bye.
Gold Coast: The GC SUNS have a month that they could look at with the prospect of notching another win or two beginning against North Melbourne (Metricon) before clashes with Hawthorn (Aurora), Western Bulldogs (Metricon) and Fremantle (Patersons).
DREAM TEAM HIGHLIGHTS
West Coast: Dean Cox ($406,500) had an amazing game and finished with a massive 145 Toyota AFL Dream Team points. Matt Priddis ($362,900) had 133, Shannon Hurn ($258,300) 131 and Mark LeCras ($328,200) 128.
Gold Coast: Gary Ablett ($407,500) picked up 132 Dream Team points in his 200th AFL game with Zac Smith ($278,300) scoring 107, Michael Rischitelli ($406,800) 105 and Trent McKenzie ($240,600) 102.
QUARTER BY QUARTER
First quarter
West Coast came out of the blocks looking to blow Gold Coast out of the water similar to what Essendon did in round six. Quinten Lynch, Josh Kennedy, Dean Cox and Mark LeCras all booted goals inside the first 10 minutes before the GC SUNS looked like scoring.
The Eagles then got two more goals through Scott Selwood and LeCras to lead by 37 points, but the GC SUNS ended up booting three of the last four goals to remain in touch and get within 24 by quarter-time.
Second quarter
Gold Coast SUNS started the second term strongly and scored the first goal through Sam Day, but the Eagles worked their way back on top and controlled the rest of the half.
Kennedy, Nic Naitanui and Brad Sheppard capitalised to help the Eagles to a 37-point lead again before a late goal to Suns skipper Gary Ablett.
Third quarter
The GC SUNS worked their way on top in the third term against a lacklustre Eagles outfit. Gold Coast SUNS booted four goals to just one from West Coast with Jared Brennan lifting, Ablett working hard and Smith doing well in the ruck against Cox and Naitanui.
Gold Coast SUNS trailed by just 13 points at three-quarter time to be a chance at an upset win.
Fourth quarter
The GC SUNS continued to push hard in the final term and had 11 of the first 14 inside-50 entries, but couldn’t capitalise enough on the scoreboard. Trent McKenzie did boot a long bomb, but Naitanui steadied the Eagles just three minutes later to secure West Coast's win.
The views in this article are those of the author and not necessarily of the clubs or the AFL
