WHAT’S GAMBLING REALLY COSTING YOU? Set a deposit limit. For Free and confidential support call 1800 858 858 or visit gamblinghelponline.org.au.<\/p>\n It keeps the Suns within striking distance of the top four \u2014 with a game in hand on the other finals contenders \u2014 as they look to cement their maiden post-season appearance.<\/p>\n Matt Rowell was crowned the Marcus Ashcroft medallist, totalling 37 disposals, 12 tackles, 14 clearances, 730 metres gained, 10 score involvements and seven inside-50s. <\/p>\n The Suns scored 78 points from stoppage \u2014 just two shy of Gold Coast\u2019s best-ever result on record. <\/p>\n While it was jubilation for the Suns, Brisbane\u2019s beatdown was compounded by a hamstring injury to Conor McKenna and concern over Dayne Zorko\u2019s foot issue.<\/p>\n The 66-point loss is Brisbane\u2019s biggest since its preliminary final belting in 2022 at the hands of Geelong. <\/p>\n THE 3-2-1 (what we learned) …<\/p>\n 3. QCLASH SCRIPT FINALLY FLIPPED AS \u2018DOMINANT\u2019 RISER REWRITES RECORD BOOK<\/p>\n It\u2019s been overdue, but the QClash tide may have finally turned in the Suns\u2019 favour on Saturday afternoon. <\/p>\n The hosts entered having lost 12 of their past 13 meetings with the Lions. <\/p>\n In 2023, Gold Coast broke a nine-game losing skid against Brisbane, but as Lions legend Jonathan Brown said during the Fox Footy broadcast, \u201cthis feels different\u201d. <\/p>\n The Suns\u2019 comprehensive 66-point triumph is their biggest-ever winning margin against Brisbane, eclipsing their 64-point victory back in Round 5, 2015. <\/p>\n After absorbing early heat from the visitors, Gold Coast ramped up its pressure and intensity on the Lions in the second quarter, booting five goals to two. <\/p>\n In the first half, the Suns recorded a pressure rating of 181 to Brisbane\u2019s 168, which told the story. The competition average this year is 180. <\/p>\n One of the other key storylines was the Suns\u2019 stoppage dominance; consistently proving they were hungrier at the contest and more physical with their approach. <\/p>\n \u201cIt was a great response, wasn\u2019t it?\u201d began Brown of Gold Coast after a nervy start. <\/p>\n \u201cThey\u2019ve hunted the Lions \u2026 I thought the Suns midfielders just hunted the Lions midfielders, and that\u2019s why they\u2019re in front at half-time.\u201d<\/p>\n Dimma proud & heaps praise on Witts | 08:15<\/p>\n And leading the way, as he\u2019s done for all of this season to be a genuine All-Australian candidate, captain Noah Anderson had 24 disposals and two goals to his name by the main change. <\/p>\n \u201c(It\u2019s been a) dominant display in the middle of the ground, and his ability to hit targets inside forward 50 and put his teammates into better positions \u2026 we saw just before that great goal just to really ignite the crowd and his midfield.\u201d<\/p>\n Anderson\u2019s 24 first-half touches was the highest possession count by an individual in the QClash at half-time in the history of the rivalry. <\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s been unbelievable \u2026 it\u2019s when they\u2019re spreading on the outside, as well as Rowell, too, he gets on the outside (and damages),\u201d Brown said. <\/p>\n \u201cThe dominance around the clearance has been really impressive. You very rarely see the Lions get cleaned up in stoppage numbers \u2026 I think the Suns midfielders are spreading cleaner from the contest.\u201d<\/p>\n The Suns had kicked six goals from stoppage to the Lions\u2019 one. <\/p>\n Alastair Lynch added: \u201cFrom our elevated position in the commentary box, you can see they\u2019re working harder from the contest. They don\u2019t always get rewarded on the outside, but they\u2019re working harder and getting extra numbers to the next contest.\u201d<\/p>\n Gold Coast kicked another five goals to one in the third quarter. At the final change, the Suns were +10 for inside-50s, +73 for disposals, +11 for clearances and +54 for uncontested possessions. <\/p>\n The procession continued as the Suns romped to their best-ever victory over the arch-nemesis, and it means their top-four hopes remain alive and well despite last Sunday\u2019s hiccup. <\/p>\n 2. \u2018CAN\u2019T HAVE THIS\u2019: LIONS \u2018RIPPED APART\u2019 IN UNCHARACTERISTIC FAILURE<\/p>\n It might\u2019ve been Brisbane at its most uncharacteristic on Saturday; categorically outmuscled at stoppage, and almost a complete lack of resistance defending in transition. <\/p>\n The Lions exerted some territory dominance to start the game but were quickly quelled from quarter-time onwards, conceding 10 combined goals in the second and third quarters to just three of their own. <\/p>\n \u201cThis is a demolition out of stoppage. This doesn\u2019t happen to the Brisbane Lions,\u201d Alastair Lynch said in the third quarter after the Suns made it seven goals to one (!) from stoppage. <\/p>\n \u201cOnly a couple of clearances difference in the raw numbers, but you can\u2019t have this. Defensive-50 stoppages from a Brisbane point of view; they\u2019re getting ripped apart.\u201d<\/p>\n The Lions\u2019 deficit ballooned out to a game-high 58 points halfway through the third quarter, well and truly flipping the script of recent QClash meetings. <\/p>\n \u201cThese are the sort of hidings that Brisbane has been regularly handing out to the Suns. Those days might be gone for a while,\u201d Fox Footy caller Anthony Hudson noted in the final term. <\/p>\n Jonathan Brown added: \u201cThis (Suns win) feels different \u2026 It\u2019s been around the contest today, which has been the most defining aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n Brisbane wound up conceding 12 more total clearances and eight more from centre-bounce. It also finished with 11 fewer inside-50s, 71 fewer disposals, 12 fewer contested possessions, and 62 fewer uncontested possessions. <\/p>\n Fagan on ‘a game to forget’ for Lions | 05:40<\/p>\n 1. \u2018WHAT THEY WERE HOPING FOR\u2019: FORGOTTEN MID TURNS HEADS AMID \u2018FASCINATING\u2019 WATCH<\/p>\n Under-the-radar Gold Coast midfielder Alex Davies made his first senior appearance since Round 24 last year, and the 23-year-old reminded observers what he\u2019s capable of. <\/p>\n Davies collected a career-high 30 disposals with 10 tackles, seven clearances, nine score involvements and five intercepts. <\/p>\n \u201cAlex Davies has been impressive as well; I\u2019ve been impressed with his first game back in \u2014 193 centimetres, that big-bodied midfielder,\u201d Jonathan Brown noted at half-time. <\/p>\n Alastair Lynch added: \u201cI think what you\u2019re seeing from Alex Davies is what they were hoping for a couple of years ago. <\/p>\n \u201cMaybe a bit of injury, a bit of form (was why he was out of the side), but if he can maintain this level, he could develop himself into a first-class midfielder, with that size especially.\u201d<\/p>\n Ben Dixon added: \u201cThat\u2019s going to be a fascinating watch, what they do there through the middle of the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n Davies meshed well with the best-on-ground Rowell and skipper Anderson, who finished his day with 33 disposals, a goal and nine score involvements. <\/p>\n Lynch added in the third quarter: \u201cHe\u2019s had 23 (possessions), which is a career-best for him \u2026 he\u2019s a good size, been in the league for a few years now. Hasn\u2019t had a heap of opportunity of late, but they\u2019re developing nicely today.\u201d<\/p>\n Davies\u2019 30th and final disposal was a shot at goal that hit the post, with Lynch calling him \u201cone of the stories of the day\u201d.<\/p>\n Re-live our coverage of Gold Coast vs. Brisbane in the blog below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gold Coast has made QClash history in a boilover result, smashing a hapless Brisbane outfit by 66 points…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":23903,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-23902","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afl","tag-afl","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-australian-football-league","tag-australianfootballleague","tag-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23902","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23902"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23902\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23903"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23902"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23902"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23902"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}<\/a>
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