1. Quality players generally respond if they have a down week. Tim Kelly was coming off an unusually quite game against St Kilda but was at the forefront of this performance. The star midfielder was the Eagles highest possession winner with 28 touches and for the most part was involved in an absorbing battle with Suns young gun Matt Rowell. Kelly had 11 contested possessions, gained 608 metres with ball in hand and was responsible for sending the ball inside the forward arc eight times.

2. Over the last 12 seasons Andrew Gaff has been a warrior and in his 250th game he did all within his power to propel the Eagles over the line. He had 23 possessions, with six of them contested. The other senior players in the team were also strong contributors with Jack Darling, whose career has run parallel to that of Gaff, Shannon Hurn, Luke Shuey, Jack Redden and Nic Naitanui prominent in a gritty performance.

07:45

Rd 20 highlights v Suns

See the highlights from our close clash against the Gold Coast Suns

3. The Eagles have been relatively efficient for a few seasons, regularly needing to contend with inferior supply inside the forward arc to push for victory. This was no exception with the Suns leading the forward 50 penetration 57-40, but the Eagles were never out of the game. Largely through Jack Darling who took five marks inside the scoring zone, the Eagles took 17 grabs compared to the Suns 13 in scoring range.

4. The form of key defender Tom Barrass continues to provide a season highlight. In the absence of Jeremy McGovern he is ruling the air in the back half and of 11 marks, six were intercepts that stopped Suns forward thrusts in their tracks. He also had 14 kicks and five handballs to help keep the Eagles in the contest when the Suns threatened to put the game beyond reach. With veteran Shannon Hurn and Luke Foley they combined to provide strong rebound from the defensive half.

04:45

Simpson post-match v Suns

Hear from Adam Simpson after our close loss to the Gold Coast Suns

5. If the Eagles are to rebound quickly from a season where little has gone right, it is going to take the so-called second tier players to consistently step up in 2023. One of those players is forward Jack Petruccelle who again provided an insight into his attributes against the Suns. He had 13 possessions and six marks in a lively display, capping off his work with three goals. Unfortunately his season has been truncated by a series of hamstring strains and finished the game with awareness at the back of his leg again.