Gold Coast’s Tom Lynch had a day out against Carlton on Saturday, with his eight-goal haul forming part of 13 score involvements for the game.

The key forward led from the front, lifting his teammates around him.

To go with his scoreboard impact, Lynch was strong in the contest as he gathered ten contested possessions and laid four tackles. 

There were times throughout the game where Carlton threatened, but the SUNS were able to turn up the heat and made sure plenty of defensive pressure was applied.

It was that aspect of the game that really pleased the 25-year-old.

“It was great for the boys to just get the win, they really challenged us,” Lynch told SUNS TV after the game. 

“There was some really, really big efforts by a few boys, and especially Nick Holman, he had a job on [Patrick Cripps] and had about 10 tackles so it was exciting.“

He credits the younger brigade for stepping up and playing their role. 

“Jack Bowes, Brayden Fiorini, Darcy Macpherson, Ben Ainsworth – those 2-3 year guys are really embracing, really leading the group.

“So it’s great for the leadership group to have those guys really pushing hard.” 

Attention has quickly turned to next week’s game, but Lynch believes the start to the season will do a world of good for the team. 

The SUNS will head to Perth for back-to-back games against Fremantle and West Coast at Optus Stadium.

“We go over there for two weeks which will be a big job, they’re obviously hard to beat over there,

“So it’s good to get those two wins and a bit of belief in the group.”