{"id":708796,"date":"2026-06-01T18:49:49","date_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:49:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/708796\/"},"modified":"2026-06-01T18:49:49","modified_gmt":"2026-06-01T18:49:49","slug":"suns-ever-wary-of-wounded-lions-ahead-of-afl-q-clash-illawarra-mercury","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/708796\/","title":{"rendered":"Suns ever wary of wounded Lions ahead of AFL Q-Clash | Illawarra Mercury"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"GoldGold Coast’s Matt Rowell is not taking the Brisbane Lions lightly ahead of Saturday’s AFL clash. Photo: Adam Trafford\/AAP PHOTOS<\/p>\n

Brisbane’s worrying form slump ahead of the first Q-Clash of the season won’t lull rivals Gold Coast into a false sense of security, Suns star Matt Rowell says.<\/p>\n

Critics have come hard for the back-to-back premiers, whose flag defence is on shaky ground after three consecutive losses sent them sliding to ninth on the ladder.<\/p>\n

Chris Fagan’s men were been convincingly beaten by Geelong (41 points) and GWS (78 points) before last week’s home loss to ladder leaders Fremantle (25 points).<\/p>\n

But Gold Coast have beaten the Lions just twice in their last 15 attempts, and were mauled by 53 points in their most recent meeting, in a knockout semi-final last year.<\/p>\n

\"TheThe Brisbane Lions have lost three in a row, putting their premiership defence in jeopardy. (Dave Hunt\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n

Rowell admitted that loss still stings, while the Suns are also smarting from a six-point defeat to North Melbourne before last week’s bye, when they coughed up a 43-point lead.<\/p>\n

The Brownlow medallist expects a fierce contest at People First Stadium on Saturday.<\/p>\n

“Brisbane have shown they’re such a quality side over a number of years now,” Rowell said.<\/p>\n

“Even if they’ve had a few down weeks, you’ve always got to be at your best against a team like Brisbane, who have won the last two premierships.”<\/p>\n

Rowell is preparing for another battle with Josh Dunkley, who had enjoyed a strong record blunting his opponent before the Suns star broke the shackles in a big win over Brisbane last July.<\/p>\n

\"JoshJosh Dunkley’s clash with Matt Rowell will be one to watch this weekend. (Darren England\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n

“We’ve played on each other a bit, so I’m sure we’ll match up on each other throughout the day,” he said.<\/p>\n

“I do (enjoy the battle). He’s a very good competitor.<\/p>\n

“You love going up against those players. I think he plays the right way. He’s hard at it, a lot like their whole team.”<\/p>\n

Gold Coast (7-4) have also faced criticism after the horror fade out against North Melbourne, with a spotlight on their poor record following annual Darwin trips in recent years.<\/p>\n

But Rowell dismissed suggestions there was a lingering physical toll from playing in difficult Top End conditions.<\/p>\n

\"AfterAfter recovering from a concussion, Will Graham is set to return for the Suns against the Lions. (Adam Trafford\/AAP PHOTOS)<\/p>\n

“I think we felt fine. I don’t think it was fatigue or anything,” Rowell said.<\/p>\n

“It was probably more just mentally that we went away a bit from our game style and ball movement.<\/p>\n

“I don’t think it had anything to do with fitness or anything like that. We know we’re a fit side.”<\/p>\n

Gold Coast pair Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (ankle) and Lachie Weller (hamstring) must pass fitness tests this week, while Will Graham is set to return from concussion.<\/p>\n

Rowell said his own body is back to “100 per cent” after frustrating finger and ankle injuries denied him continuity early this season.<\/p>\n

Australian Associated Press<\/p>\n

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Loading…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Gold Coast’s Matt Rowell is not taking the Brisbane Lions lightly ahead of Saturday’s AFL clash. Photo: Adam…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":708797,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[560],"tags":[638,64,63,55,639,85],"class_list":["post-708796","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\/708796","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=708796"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708796\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/708797"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708796"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708796"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708796"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}