AFL R19: GWS Giants vs Gold Coast Suns Review – Another hour of abject football

It turns out firing your coach doesn’t necessarily solve all your problems. The Suns once again fell away in the second half of a very competitive game and got routed in the end by a team they are ostensibly competing with on the ladder. Sunday’s game suggests there is a gulf in class between the two sides at this point.

The Giants’ best players played like the elite players they are while the Suns were carried in patches by Sam Flanders, someone who has only just grown into a genuine AFL contributor in the last few weeks. Ben King, Matt Rowell, Touk Miller and Noah Anderson were second best to their opponents all day.

Ben King

Ben King has been woeful for about a month now. It’s impossible to know whether this is a result of his return from injury or if he is just having a rough patch of form. But his uncompetitiveness in the marking contest is killing the Suns. Bringing the ball to ground is crucial for the Suns’ contest gameplan to bear any fruit and Casboult is currently the only forward able to apply it. Lukosius obviously can’t be relied upon for that sort of role but King has to be able to do it too. Not every opportunity he gets is going to be lace out with the nearest defender 5m away. He has to make more from what he is given even if it doesn’t result in goals for himself. He is never getting dropped so someone or something has to inspire him to reach a greater level of performance. Here’s hoping the QClash is enough motivation for him to put in a performance he can be proud of for the first time in a while.

Confirmation of Dew’s shortcomings

The Stuart Dew system was really put to the sword again. The Suns struggled to move the ball for huge periods of the game and were as wasteful as ever entering forward 50. The Giants orange tsunami-ed all over the place in the second half. Halftime adjustments for most of the season have gone the opposition’s way and Sunday was no different. GWS came out and scored almost immediately then didn’t look back. The fact that a rebuilding Giants side can look so much more tactically astute and well-drilled is another indictment of Dew’s work in the most recent seasons. I know he isn’t the coach anymore but I think its fair to assume his approach still governs how the team plans to play on the weekend.

The Suns played right into GWS’ hands, their i50 entries were sloppy and they couldn’t hold it in there anyway. Once the Giants halted the intercept mark game that worked early in the game, the Suns talls became a liability in chasing the Giants coming back at them. And the Suns would too often slow the tempo and kick long, virtually guaranteeing a quick rebound. I am very much repeating myself at this point and commentators have picked up on it too. Maybe if we can get one thing out of the rest of the season it could just be a greater ability to lower the eyes and play quicker when we win the ball 70-80m out from goal. Teams know we aren’t going to challenge them from there and they can just defend deep all day.

GWS’ improvement confirms the whole Suns organisation is not where they think they are

The connection going inside 50 is such a key and massive flaw that it is beyond alarming at this point. We’re a bit like Melbourne except without the premiership pedigree or dependable midfielders or elite defence. I am being a bit dramatic after a drubbing but I think its because this was against GWS. List-wise they are younger and like us their best players aren’t aging out of their primes just yet. But most expected the Suns to be the better side going into the season. GWS were expected to fall back a bit and have a mini rebuild with Cadman coming into the side and with two of their best players leaving.

I can guarantee if Anderson and Miller had left in the summer we would not be a better team, but the Giants have managed it. If anyone needed more confirmation that the Suns aren’t ready for the big time that was it. The club thought they were finals ready this season but have been woefully off the mark. Whoever comes in to coach the team next year will have to audit everyone around the football department and determine whether they up to AFL standard. Only an experienced winner is capable of judging that(*cough* Hardwick, Hinkckley, Scott, maybe Pike).

Big Sam’s Day Out

It seems strange to praise a defender after a hundred-point loss but Collins had such an impressive game that I couldn’t leave it out., I have criticised him a fair amount this season but he really played his role well, mopping up as the deepest defender. He read the ball really well in flight and was able to be physical with an undersized forward line. He needed a showing like that before the return match with Daniher on Saturday, We know he will be desperate to get the job done up against a rival, he is now in a much better position to do it.

Last thing

Now that finals are pretty much totally out of the picture I really hope the players stick with it and try to get as much out of the season as possible. We could still have our most successful season ever without making finals. It would be a small step in the right direction, fans will very much appreciate it, and our future coach will have more faith in the squad. If we fall away completely it would reflect so badly on the group and the offseason could be a rough one. So let’s hope start the final stretch with an encouraging loss to Brisbane I guess.