Western Bulldogs’ big finish blankets SUNS
The Age
Len Johnson
Seemingly asleep at the wheel for almost three quarters, the Western Bulldogs overran the Gold Coast SUNS to surge to a 22-point victory at Cazaly Stadium in Cairns on Saturday night.
Down by 18 points at half-time, the Dogs looked gone when Gold Coast started the second half with two goals in two minutes, just as they had at the start of the game.
A Gold Coast win seemed even more likely when Fletcher Roberts gifted Brandon Matera a 50-metre penalty and goal that took the lead out to 35 points.
But the SUNS disappeared with the fading of the light, adding only two more goals for the game.
Steven May says club needs to stop leaking late points
Gold Coast Bulletin
Tom Boswell
Steven May has challenged the Gold Coast SUNS to adopt a ruthless mentality to arrest a worrying trend of conceding late goals to their opponents.
The SUNS were poised to record their first back-to-back wins of the season in front of 9449 fans at Cazalys Stadium in Cairns yesterday but instead were left to rue a lacklustre fourth quarter in the 14.11 (95) to 11.7 (73) loss to the Western Bulldogs.
The Gold Coast have made an ugly habit out of starving opposition teams of points early before being battered late in games.
An absence of key players and wins this year has largely masked the worrying problem but for the first time on Saturday the inability to close out games cost the club.
Bulldogs 10-goal final term sinks tiring SUNS
AAP
Vince Rugari
The Western Bulldogs have come from 37 points down in the third quarter to beat Gold Coast by 22 points in a thriller in Cairns.
An upset appeared likely with the SUNS dominant early but the momentum shifted after half-time with the Bulldogs eventually rewarded for effort when Jake Stringer gave them the lead for the first time towards the business end of the last quarter, delighting the crowd of 9449.
Gold Coast was also forced to use its substitution at quarter-time following an injury to key forward Charlie Dixon, who landed awkwardly on his ankle in a first term marking contest.
He shrugged off trainers in an attempt to play on but the 24-year-old couldn't overcome the injury and went straight to the change rooms when taken from the ground.
The setback looms as a significant one for the injury-prone Dixon and his hopes of landing a big-money contract next season.
Poor fitness dogs SUNS in Cairns
Courier Mail
Greg Davis
SUNS young gun Kade Kolodjashnij says the Gold Coast lost their legs and lost their way in the horror fourth quarter in Cairns on Saturday night.
The Western Bulldogs mauled the SUNS with 10 goals to two in the final term to claim a stunning 22-point win over the fading Gold Coast who led by as much as 37 points midway through the third quarter.
Kolodjashnij was one of the few SUNS to finish the match with his reputation enhanced after collecting 30 disposals in another classy display from the half-back flanker.
Captain Gary Ablett could hold his head high after 30 touches, eight clearances, eight inside 50 entries and a goal.
Tom Lynch and Michael Rischitelli also battled manfully for the SUNS but too little was left to too few when it mattered most.
