A brave West Coast Eagles outfit suffered a heart-breaking three-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns at Metricon Stadium.
With a number of momentum swings throughout the contest, it was the Suns who endured in a tense final few minutes – eventually winning 16.11 (107) to 16.8 (104).
When the Eagles edged to within two points with 38 seconds on the clock after Jake Waterman converted a set shot, it would come down to the centre clearance.
Star ruckman Nic Naitanui won the hit out, but the Suns were ready for the ball being knocked in the direction of the Eagles attacking goal. They swept the ball forward and young Suns forward Malcolm Rosas sealed the issue with a clever snap.
There was still time for another bounce and clearance, with Tim Kelly winning the ball out of the middle and Jamaine Jones slotting the goal on the siren, leaving the Eagles an agonising three points short of victory.
Again the Eagles performance was punctuated by the efforts of its veterans with midfielders Andrew Gaff, Luke Shuey and Kelly providing drive through the cauldron while Tom Barrass and Shannon Hurn were brilliant down back and Jack Darling was a focal point up forward, kicking six goals.
In games as tight as this one, it comes down to a few breaks at the end, but the Eagles made it tough for themselves with a spasmodic first half.
The Suns did the damage before the main break, particularly late in the opening term and the first half of the second quarter when their slick ball movement and energy around the ball left the Eagles perplexed and flat-footed.
During that time the Suns opened up a 37-point advantage before the Eagles responded.
A late goal from Liam Ryan late in the second quarter and two each in the third term from Jack Peruccelle and Darling saw the Eagles edge to within 13 points.
At that stage the Eagles’ ball movement and the energy levels were at their highest and they sustained it to the end as they built momentum and looked capable of securing four precious premiership points.
Gaff, in his 250th game, was a prolific ball-winner and in conjunction with Shuey and Kelly, who was involved in an engrossing battle with Matt Rowell, they remained in the game.
A couple of late goals to the Suns through Mabior Chol, the last of them on the siren, saw the Suns enjoy a 25-point margin at the three-quarter time break. Chol was a constant menace up forward with five goals while captain Touk Miller was highly influential through the middle.
While the Eagles refused to yield, they ran out of time, leaving themselves too much to do in the second half.
Gold Coast Suns 5.1 10.5 13.8 16.11 107
West Coast Eagles 2.4 5.5 9.7 16.8 104
Goals – Gold Coast Suns: Chol 5; Rankine 3; Rosas, Sharp 2; Casboult, Ainsworth, Anderson, Holman. West Coast Eagles: Darling 6; Petruccelle 3; Ryan, Redden 2; Cripps, Waterman, Jones.
Best – Gold Coast Suns: Miller, Chol, Anderson, Rankine, Rowell, Swallow. West Coast Eagles: Darling, Barrass, Kelly, Hurn, Shuey, Naitanui, Petruccelle.
Injuries – Jai Culley (hamstring) replaced by Hugh Dixon in the last quarter.
