A feared-serious hamstring injury to Christian Petracca has soured Gold Coast’s impressive 19.14 (128) to 9.6 (60) win over Richmond on Saturday afternoon.

It came as veteran Richmond stars Tom Lynch and Toby Nankervis were also cruelled by hamstring injuries in what was a hellish afternoon for soft-tissue ailments.

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Petracca exited the game in the third quarter after extending to kick while being pushed, with an ice pack under his right leg as he sat out the remainder of the contest.

The ex-Demon started hot again on Saturday amid his brilliant start to life in Carrara, with 10 score involvements from 20 disposals, but is now facing a stint on the sidelines.

But the travelling Suns moved to 3-0 on the season as they continue to present as genuine premiership contenders in Damien Hardwick’s third season as coach.

Spearhead Ben King kicked an equal-career-high seven goals on a dominant day as he raises his hand for Coleman Medal favouritism.

Ethan Read added four of his own to keep Jed Walter out of the side, while veteran star Touk Miller dazzled with 31 disposals and 10 score involvements.

The Tigers registered more clearances for the game but got absolutely torched off turnovers – of which they committed many – and couldn’t quell Gold Coast’s uncontested game.

Richmond goalkickers: Campbell 3, Prestia, Lefau, Vlastuin, Armstrong, Ralphsmith, Lalor

Gold Coast goalkickers: King 7, Read 4, Graham, Rogers, Jeffrey, Noble, Long, Miller, Powell, Clohesy

THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) via Will Faulkner …

3. SUPERSTAR SUN A SOUR CASUALTY AS ‘ONSLAUGHT’ CLOUDS BIG WIN

Gold Coast will head into their early season bye undefeated at 3-0, but they may restart their premiership campaign without superstar recruit Christian Petracca at their disposal.

The 2021 Norm Smith Medallist left the field of play during the third quarter of Saturday afternoon, after seemingly overstretching during his kicking motion as he was pushed mid-kick.

Petracca sought an interchange rotation looking “proppy”, before quickly heading down to the rooms for further assessment. After half a dozen minutes, he re-emerged and sat out the remainder of the clash with ice on his right hamstring.

It came either side of hamstring concerns for rival stars Tom Lynch and Tigers captain Toby Nankervis, who were ruled out in the second and third term respectively.

“The club tells me they don’t have any further information at the moment. They’ll obviously scan him to assess the severity of that injury,” Fox Footy reporter Sarah Jones told Super Saturday Live at three-quarter time.

“Nankervis, the big fella, also has a hamstring injury and won’t take any further part in the game … an onslaught of hamstrings, hopefully no more!”

Melbourne great Garry Lyon added: “We’re not doctors or physios, but we’ve all been injured enough to understand that when you’re leading forward like that, that’s the motion that puts the strain on your lower back and hamstrings.”

With the information made public by full time, the best-case scenario for Petracca would be ‘hamstring awareness’, which could see him return after the Suns’ two-week break.

His concern overshadowed an excellent performance up forward from Ben King (seven goals) and third-year tall Ethan Read (four goals), with the former registering his equal-best return at AFL level in 123 games.

King, who is currently out of contract and a restricted free agent this season, kicked the clash’s opening two majors and didn’t miss a single shot on goal all afternoon.

As for Read, the athletic 202cm product bagged his second-ever haul of three or more goals in Gold Coast colours.

“This is exciting. We might just be seeing the emergence of a young man who can make this forward 50 his own,” Garry Lyon said moments before Read’s third major.

“It’s intriguing to think what these Gold Coast Suns will be like at the end of the year … King’s kicked four without really dominating too much, and now Ethan Read’s come in and had a massive say.”

The duo were both on the receiving end of their side’s elite 31 point from the defensive half in the second stanza.

2. ‘FELT A TURNING POINT’: MORE INJURY WOES AS FLAG HERO, CAPTAIN GO DOWN

After a troubled time in front of goal last Thursday night in Richmond’s season-opener against Carlton, where he kicked a wayward 2.7, two-time premiership Tiger Tom Lynch is now set for a frustrating stint on the sidelines.

The 33-year-old key forward pinged his hamstring during the early stages of the second stanza, leaving the hosts a man down for over a half and very inexperienced forward of the ball.

“The Tom Lynch injury really felt like a turning point in the game. Not that he’d had a massive impact in terms of stats, but (more) his presence in the forward line,” Fox Footy host Sarah Jones said at half time.

St Kilda great Leigh Montagna added: “It wasn’t because he was dominating with his numbers, but even in that passage where he did his hamstring, he was the contest target that they kicked to. That allowed their smalls to reference at his feet, and then there’s the flow-on effect.

“Without Lynch, it means (Mykelti) Lefau and Harry Armstrong are getting Mac Andrew and Sam Collins; it just makes life a lot harder for this young, inexperienced forward line of the Tigers.”

Lunch exited the clash with three disposals and a hitout to his name, with his chase on the Suns ball carrier proving costly.

“It’s just a little tweak of his hammy. He’s done his left a couple times, but never his right. We’re hoping it’s only a small one, but obviously we’re missing the big fella down there,” Richmond coach Adem Yze told Fox Footy before the start of the third quarter.

Leigh Montagna added just prior: “In that second quarter, you could just sense at the quarter went on and that Tom Lynch injury, the momentum started to go Gold Coast’s way.

“They were getting the game on their terms, and eventually the dam wall broke. They were able to rip the Tigers’ defence apart late in that half.”

Early in the second half, captain Toby Nankervis joined him on the pine, also succumbing to a hamstring injury that could leave Adem Yze’s side very short in the ruck department in the coming weeks.

Samson Ryan (plantar fascia) and Tom Sims (navicular) are both also currently sidelined with injury, which could force a fast-tracked debut for former NBL player Ollie Hayes-Brown — who joined the club in September of 2023 as a Category B rookie.

Campbell Gray, who was dropped this weekend for the Round 2 clash, could also be called upon as a temporary ruck, though stands at just 195cm.

1. ‘GOT A LITTLE DIRTIER’: TIGERS’ REASON TO SMILE EARLY

When Gold Coast key forward Ben King kicked his second goal just five minutes into the opening quarter, it looked like Saturday afternoon could be a really, really long one for Richmond fans.

And while they still ultimately lost by 68 points, there was a 30-minute patch during the first half that the club will look upon very favourably.

Back-to-back goals from veteran Dion Prestia and key forward Mykelti Lefau evened the ledger at quarter time, before Seth Campbell ran into an open goal to give Adem Yze’s side a shock lead quickly after quarter time.

They’ve laid 25 tackles. It was a little easy when they went in early, and it looked like they stopped working for one another, they banged it inside 50 a bit,” Garry Lyon said at quarter time.

“Credit to Richmond, who upped the ante a little bit. It got a little bit dirtier when they did go in.

“We talked about a few of their players who stepped up in a big way … Lefau was fantastic and had a bit of physicality about him.”

Leigh Montagna added: “Gold Coast really just didn’t have any space inside their forward 50 after those first couple minutes, because Richmond, to their credit, slowed them down.

“There was no real overlap run, and that’s when Gold Coast are at their best — they go to an open forward line … credit to the Tigers.”

While Gold Coast led the tackle count 25-13 at quarter time, Richmond had double the ground balls over the Suns.

Re-live our coverage of Richmond vs Gold Coast in the blog below!

Originally published as THREE stars cruelled in AFL hammy hell as Suns rebuff early boilover threat