20m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:08amABC Friday Scoreboard
1m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:27am
Geelong gets a vital goal from Jhye Clark
There’s been plenty of things to like for the home crowd tonight, but you can’t give Geelong any space, and the Suns did there.
The ball went forward and Jhye Clark boomed a kick from on or about 50 and that went through.
They needed that one. lead is back under two goals.
4m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:25am
And now Humphrey has three!
Gold Coast are cutting things up right now.
Leo Lombard is using his pace and getting free, that time he burst free on the left wing and then landed the kick to Bailey Humphrey.
Humphrey takes his third kick for the game – and has his third goal! Suns lead by 17.
5m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:23am
Leo Lombard grabs another for the Suns
The Suns managed to get out of a difficult situation there with Mac Andrew getting caught, but he managed to get the ball out and Bodhi Uwland grabbed it and kicked a perfect pass to Leo Lombard.
The young Sun ran in and kicked on the angle and the Suns are up and about here. They lead by 11 in the first quarter.
10m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:18am
Great goal for the Suns from Humphrey
It’s a bit scrambly at both ends, with Noah Anderson hitting the post with his first touch.
But now the Suns get it forward again, it falls from a contest and Sam De Koning taps it out for a free.
Bailey Humphrey has it deep in the pocket … and he’s nailed it!
A great curling shot that goes through.
It’s two for the Suns, and two for Humphrey. The Suns lead by 2.1 (13) to 1.1 (7).
14m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:14am
The Cats are getting chances early
Geelong may have conceded the opening goal, but they have dominated territory since.
They’ve had a couple of chances but haven’t taken them, including a kick from Mitch Knevitt that drifted wide for a point – which is the margin now with 15 minutes left in the quarter.
17m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:11am
Geelong answers through Shaun Mannagh
No problem for the Cats.
They go straight into attack and are challenging the Suns at the back.
Eventually it feeds out to the right, where Tanner Bruhn evades a tackle and hits the perfect pass for Shaun Mannagh.
He marks under pressure – and kicks it from 25 out!
A goal apiece after three minutes.
20m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:08am
The Suns kick the opener in less than a minute!
Well that was pretty impressive from the home side!
Wil Powell burst onto the ball from the opening contest, and takes a few steps before drilling a pass to Bailey Humphrey.
He marks inside 50, goes back and booms it through!
Suns by 6 early.
22m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:06amWe are underway at Carrara!
Here we go!
Which of these sides will click tonight? In particular, which team will get the jump in the midfield?
We’ll see. The crowd is buzzing and we are underway.
Mark O’Connor goes straight to Noah Anderson.
26m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 9:02am
Recent history between Gold Coast and GeelongR14, 2025: Geelong by 24 (Kardinia Park)R11, 2024: Gold Coast by 64 (Darwin)R3, 2023: Gold Coast by 19 (Carrara)R22, 2022: Geelong by 60 (Carrara)R10, 2021: Geelong by 34 (Kardinia Park)R5, 2020: Geelong by 37 (Kardinia Park)
Last year’s contest between these teams was in a rainstorm at Kardinia Park, when the Cats were far the better side.
The previous two matches were wins for the Suns at their two homes of Carrara and Darwin.
Prior to that, Geelong had three victories on the trot at a time when Gold Coast were still inconsistent.
30m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:58am
Newcomers all over the league across the weekend
It’s not just tonight where players are making appearance number one for their new clubs.
GWS has a few including a certain Clayton Oliver, while ex West Coast skipper Oscar Allen will make his debut for Brisbane along with Zane “ZZ” Zakostelsky.
There are three new arrivals at the Bulldogs and four at the Saints, plus ex-Swan Jack Buller for Collingwood.
Will a new location lead to big performances? We shall see.
All these games will be blogged on ABC, so stick with us over the weekend.
32m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:56am
The teams are out on the field
A big cheer from the fans for the Suns running out, with Christian Petracca bursting through the banner.
Sam Collins ran out with his daughter Ivy for game 150.
35m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:54am
Cats on the Coast
James Worpel seems to be pretty happy to run around in a new team’s colours — will he be able to make his mark in the midfield battle tonight?
38m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:50am
Geelong’s new face for 2026
Former Hawk James Worpel is now bringing his in-and-under skills in the midfield to Geelong (Getty Images)
In contrast, the Cats have not made too many changes.
In fact there has been one major in from the off-season — ex-Hawks midfielder James Worpel.
The main departures from Geelong are: Mitch Duncan (retired), and Cam Guthrie (delisted).
The ins through the draft are Harley Barker and Hunter Holmes through the national draft and Academy player Jesse Mellor and Nick Driscoll through the rookie draft.
As might be expected, Worpel is straight into the side for opening round, and the Cats will be looking for him to crack in against the Suns group in the middle.
44m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:45amGold Coast’s new faces for 2026
Christian Petracca has looked good in pre-season, if he can get back to his best, he could be one of the recruits of the season for the Suns (Getty Images)
It’s been a season of change on the Gold Coast, following a breakthrough season for the Suns.
The club made its move in trade period, bidding three first-rounders for Demons star Christian Petracca and rolling the dice on Western Bulldogs forward Jamarra Ugle-Hagan.
It didn’t stop there, with the Suns eyeing a highly-rated group of Academy players.
In order to secure draft points for Zeke Uwland, Dylan Patterson, Jai Murray and Beau Addinsall in the first 18 picks, plus two more young players in the later rounds the Suns sent a ton of team experience out the door.
Ben Ainsworth went to Carlton, Connor Budarick went to the Bulldogs, Brayden Fiorini went to Essendon, Sam Flanders departed for St Kilda, and Malcolm Rosas Jr went to Sydney, where he kicked his first goal for the Swans last night.
The two ins for this Opening Round match are Petracca — who could potentially be the pickup of the season if he can get back to his best — and Uwland, who will join his brother Bodhi in the starting line-up. Watch out for his booming left leg off a wing or half-back.
Petracca brings experience, ferocity at the ball and a combination of skills to back up an already strong midfield, plus swinging through the forward line.
Ugle-Hagan will have to wait — maybe a while — after the Suns opted not to bring him in for the suspended Jed Walter.
48m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:40am
Can the Suns raise their game in 2026?
It’s fair to say that expectations are high on the Gold Coast going into season 2026 — but there are no guarantees of a second finals appearance, let alone improvement on 2025.
Still, this little video from the club is a nice scene-setter for tonight.
53m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:35am
Humidity is high for Friday night footy
One of the advantages for the Suns playing home games early in the season is the relative heat and humidity.
At Carrara half an hour out from the start of the game, it is 26.3 degrees Celsius and a heavy 85 per cent humidity.
It should cool a little by game time, but between the humidity and winds of up to 30kph from the east-south-east, conditions could be challenging for both sides.
56m agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:32am
Team news: No late changes for Gold Coast or Geelong
Both teams are set to line up as originally selected at Carrara.
There are some big outs on both sides — some we knew about and some that have landed in the last 24 hours.
For the home side, Matt Rowell’s broken finger from State of Origin means the Brownlow medallist will not be back before Gold Coast’s bye in round three.
Forward Jed Walter is out suspended, while defender Charlie Ballard is not 100 per cent yet as he comes back from his ACL.
One of the exciting options for Gold Coast up forward is Leo Lombard, who kicked three against the Lions in the Community Series
For the Cats, Jeremy Cameron is not back after his nasty broken arm in the grand final, while Patrick Dangerfield (calf) is also out.
Also out are Jack Bowes, Rhys Stanley and Tyson Stengle.
Geelong have gone with Bailey Smith who has been dealing with a calf issue, and Gryan Miers, who was listed as a test for his thumb injury.
1h agoFri 6 Mar 2026 at 8:14amIt’s time for Friday night football!
Hello, good evening and welcome to ABC Sport’s live coverage of Opening Round for 2026.
We are up and running after last night’s Sydney vs Carlton match at the SCG, and tonight we head north for Gold Coast vs Geelong at Carrara.
This is a fascinating matchup, for all sorts of reasons, including the ins and outs (more of which shortly).
Can the Suns take the momentum from last year’s breakthrough finals campaign, and kick off the year with a win over one of the perennial contenders in Geelong?
On the Cats side, is this year going to be more of the same, or will Chris Scott’s team have a similar fall-off to Sydney after both lost a grand final to Brisbane?
My name is Andrew McGarry and I’m delighted to bring you tonight’s action.
There’s plenty to talk about, so let’s get cracking!