{"id":123775,"date":"2025-09-06T18:48:16","date_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:48:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123775\/"},"modified":"2025-09-06T18:48:16","modified_gmt":"2025-09-06T18:48:16","slug":"ef-fremantle-v-gold-coast-the-big-statements","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/123775\/","title":{"rendered":"EF – Fremantle v Gold Coast – The Big Statements"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0<\/p>\n

I\u2019m going to show my age here by quoting a singer and dropping a name of someone that was finished making music before the Gold Coast Suns even existed.<\/p>\n

The AFL have screwed up many times, in many ways, this season, but in scheduling the Gold Coast Suns\u2019 first finals appearance against the Dockers, on Saturday night.<\/p>\n

They were channelling their inner Vanessa Williams, and saving the best for last.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m sorry\u2026 that was a big build up, and then I under-delivered with Vanessa Williams. Maybe you were expecting a bit of Bon Jovi and Livin\u2019 on a Prayer? Or maybe Mel and Kim\u2019s Respectable?<\/p>\n

Unlike Mel and Kim, this game did not under-deliver \u2013 not by a long shot.<\/p>\n

After a poor first half, Fremantle extracted the digit and made a fantastic game of it in the second half. Their hand was forced by a Suns unit that took the game on, and piled on the scoreboard pressure. Freo were forced to go on the attack, and when they did\u2026 surprise surprise\u2026 they started to look good.<\/p>\n

Speaking of looking good, the second quarter of the Gold Coast was as good a 30 minutes pf footy as the team has played all season. Bailey Humphrey introduced himself to September footy by slamming through three of his four goals, and the combination of Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson crashed and bashed the footy forward, as they combined for 21 touches.<\/p>\n

At the main break, it was a 25-point lead to the Suns, and all signs pointed toward a Pineapple Grapple Semi-Final next week.<\/p>\n

But the Dockers weren\u2019t done.<\/p>\n

They edged back into the contest in the third, before the Suns started to play conservative football to start the fourth \u2013 that always spells trouble.<\/p>\n

It allowed Freo the opportunity to go on the offence, and take the contest on. That resulted in the Dockers hitting the front.<\/p>\n

Panic stations in the Gold Coast box!<\/p>\n

Once again, the Suns looked to Mac Andrew to swing momentum. Their big defender pushed forward and kicked a goal to tie the scores. David Swallow was then awarded a free kick for being held, and he slotted a goal that was then reviewed and reversed to a behind.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, with just nine seconds to play with, the Dockers had only the slimmest chance of moving the footy end-to-end.<\/p>\n

Siren.<\/p>\n

Suns win their first final, and they did it on the road. Almost like the story of the club, itself, they did it the hard way.<\/p>\n

Time to jump into The Mongrel\u2019s Big Statements.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

The remainder of this article is for our members. They support me, and I provide for them. It\u2019s a good deal.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Oh\u2026 a Mongrel paywall\u2026 the worst of all paywalls. Why? Because HB believes work such as this is worth a mere pittance per day. Whilst you could stick with Caro\u2019s Arrow or Kane\u2019s Vol-Kane-O, you\u2019ll get your 500 words in the newspaper and be happy, or you could dive articles like this. If you don\u2019t want to, that\u2019s fine. You\u2019re welcome to join and keep reading if you do.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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