AFL: Gold Coast Suns vs Hawthorn Hawks Review

They just had to get the 4 points this weekend no matter what. Thankfully the Suns got the job done with minimal stress. They are once again even for wins and losses and have a percentage of 100 before a huge string of games to come. Hawthorn looked competent and dangerous in the first quarter but Gold Coast got their act together and halted their momentum, allowing just two goals for the rest of the game. The Bank is really becoming a fortress the Suns can defend, where they look the most comfortable. Let’s look at the key takeaways from that performance.

Functioning defensive gameplan

From the second quarter onwards the Suns were able to keep Hawthorn out of their forward half really effectively. The Hawks like to build from the back and create space to burst up the field. The Suns mids and forwards applied strong pressure on the Hawks defenders and forced bad kicks which the Suns D gobbled up. Andrew, Powell, Ballard and Collins were all dominant in the air and allowed the Suns to counter quickly. If the Suns front half can remain disciplined and restrain opposition ball-movers, they have the interceptors to punish sloppy kicks. Too often at times this year the Suns have allowed teams to advance up the field and relied on the defence to win contests in more congested areas of the field. But they showed this week that if the attack can be slowed, down the ground they can win the ball back in more dangerous areas. Collingwood will really test this next week as Daicos and co. can come out of defence in a flash and stretch unprepared defences. This performance will be a massive confidence boost for Andrew and the like who will feel better equipped to take on the best attacks than they did last week.

Bad shots at goal

The Suns kicked an embarrassing number of behinds. Casboult and King had a bad day with their set shots and none of the small forwards looked very assured taking shots at pace in the heat of battle. They really should have won the game by about 6 more goals. If they are to reach finals the Suns can’t afford to waste opportunities when they are on top in games. Against Carlton they were punished viciously for it and they only got away with it this week because the defence was so good. We saw how it cost Adelaide at the G on Sunday too. The key forwards taking set shots might have good and bad days but those snaps at goal have to find the middle sticks more often. Holman, Rosas and Ainsworth in particular haven’t pulled their weight in terms of goals this season and they have to be switched on if the big guys don’t have their kicking boots on. To be fair to Rosas he took his chances late but he is certainly not a reliable threat at the moment.

New midfield mix

We saw a very interesting midfield rotation on Sunday as Anderson and Swallow only featured at 50% of centre bounces. This allowed Fiorini and Flanders to get much more time at stoppages than they have all season. It may have been because of Hawthorn’s young midfield which didn’t threaten the Suns too much, allowing Dew to rest Anderson forward more. But the new pair had 12 clearances and 46 effective disposals between them so they clearly deserved the opportunity. If they can become reliable additions to the usual suspects they could really help lessen the load on Rowell and Anderson who have both had a dip in form since the bye. Flanders in particular did an excellent job extracting the ball from stoppages and finding a teammate. If he can back up Rowell in that aspect the loss of Miller can be alleviated for a few more rounds. I would still like to see Humphrey get some time in there because he looks so hungry around the ball and his body is already suited to it but maybe it wasn’t worth the trouble in a game that was easily won. I will be very interested to see how they line up against Collingwood where winning first use and halting the Pies swarm out of the contest will be so important to getting the win.

That really was the performance the Suns needed after that display at the MCG. The system held up despite the lack of composure in front of the sticks and the players who got their chance this week didn’t waste it. (Although Oea still feels like the ideal sub rather than a starter) Now 10^th on the ladder along with three other teams on 7 wins, its time to start separating from the pack. The Collingwood game has again come up at a pivotal point in the season where a win could be huge for the club just like a decade ago, only his time the Pies are the best team in the league.

I will be doing a serious preview because I am already hyped for the game, but in the meantime I hope everyone enjoys the satisfaction of four points earned without the usual weekend-ruining stress.