The Gold Coast SUNS weren’t able to chase down a surging Carlton on Saturday night, going down by 11 points at Metricon Stadium.
It was a fierce contest in slippery conditions, but the Blues managed to outlast the SUNS 9.16 (70) to 8.11 (59) to emerge victorious.
The game was poised beautifully at the final change with the visitors leading by a solitary point.
The final quarter wasn't pretty, but Carlton camped inside the SUNS’ forward 50 for the first 20 minutes of the term and kept the home team at bay.
Gold Coast had its moments, kicking three straight goals in the second term to pinch the lead, and again pushed hard in the third quarter, but simply made too many mistakes.
Hugh Greenwood (27 touches and 10 tackles) was immense for the SUNS, while Touk Miller, Noah Anderson and Jack Bowes all worked hard.
In the absence of SUNS skipper Jarrod Witts, Chris Burgess and Caleb Graham performed admirably in the ruck, with even Touk Miller registering a hitout which helped set up a second-quarter goal. Their combined efforts helped the SUNS win the clearances 47-38
GOLD COAST 1.2 4.4 8.8 8.11 (59)
CARLTON 2.4 6.6 8.9 9.16 (70)
GOALS
Gold Coast: Sexton 2, Ainsworth, Burgess, Ellis, Greenwood, King, Weller
Carlton: McKay 2, Murphy 2, Betts, Casboult, Cottrell, Cripps, Curnow
BEST
Gold Coast: Greenwood, Miller, Bowes, Anderson, Swallow, Ellis
Carlton: Curnow, Jones, Walsh, Docherty, Petrevski-Seton, Weitering
INJURIES
Gold Coast: Lemmens (concussion)
Carlton: Plowman (knee), Silvagni (shoulder)
SUBSTITUTES
Gold Coast: Flanders (replaced Lemmens)
Carlton: Kennedy (replaced Plowman)
Crowd: 11,618 at Metricon Stadium
