A TIRED, fatigued and undermanned Gold Coast Football Club suffered its biggest TAC Cup loss of the season at the hands of the Murray Bushrangers on Saturday. In the curtain raiser to the Richmond-Adelaide AFL game at Carrara, the GCFC came out to meet the Bushrangers in what was their fourth game of football in 14 days.

They were backing up following last week's AFL Under-18 National Championships and had many of their best side unavailable. And it showed as they went down 14-9 (93) to 5-8 (38) in what can only be described as a lacklustre display. They kicked just three goals after quarter-time and were overwhelmed by a spirited and determined Bushrangers' outfit. It was the first thrashing they have received this season and it will be interesting to see how they respond next weekend. There were a few GCFC players who could hold their head up high on the day. One of them was tenacious wingman Todd Grayson, who never once stopped trying and provided the highlight of the day with a great goal in traffic in the first term.

Grayson is one the GCFC's lesser known uncontracted players who has proved this year that he has a big future in the game. Rory Thompson, Ryan Thomson and Charlie Dixon were all prominent, while Joseph Daye and Nathan Spring also tried hard. Cheyne Hutchinson, Troy Jamieson, Trent Manzone, Thompson and Grayson were the goalkickers. The loss was costly for the Coast, who dropped to eighth on the ladder.

They meet the Denis Pagan-coached Northern Knights at Carrara on Saturday in what looms as a must-win game.

By Nick Smart, 
Courtesy Gold Coast Bulletin