Faint finals hopes on the Gold Coast are alive and kicking, but only after enigmatic
Key forward Mabior Chol helped the Suns to a thrilling three-point win over West Coast
Sunday at Metric Stadium.
The Suns led by 31 points early in the fourth quarter after a Chol field goal, but the Eagles stormed back
at home, kicking the next five majors to close with two points from the home team.
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West Coast’s Jake Waterman had a kick to put the Eagles in front but hit the man
score only to see the laconic Chol kick his career-high fifth goal soon after in his 50th senior
match
The Eagles pulled within three points of the Suns with 38 seconds left after Waterman made it
he made amends and kicked for real, but a goal from Malcolm Rosas put the four first points on ice.
Touk Miller and Noah Anderson were standouts for the Suns in the midfield while Izak
Rankine kicked three goals for the home side, while Jack Darling bagged six goals
the Eagles who were very well served by defender Tom Barrass.
The Suns are two wins out of the top eight with three games left in the season
a 9-10 record, the second best season return for the Gold Coast since its inception.
The Eagles closed to 13 points of the Suns twice in the third term with
Darling took his tally to four goals for the day in the West Coast clash.
The visitors kicked the first three goals after the break until Anderson stopped the rot with a
Beautiful goal in traffic for the Gold Coast who enjoyed a 25-point lead at the last change
after Chol kicked for real after the siren after a spectacular mark.
On the back of dominating inside 50 innings (33-17), dismissals (23-14) and contested
possessions (69-53), the Suns took a significant 30-point buffer into halftime.
Rankine had three goals to his name at the main break as Gold Coast kicked five goals
in each of the first two quarters after a sloppy, slow start when the Eagles kicked
the first two majors of the game.
The Suns swung into action and responded emphatically with the next five goals from the
match with Rankine’s display from near the boundary line and Chol making two goals
way to a 16-point cushion at quarter time.
The Gold Coast continued their merry way in the second term, extending their lead to aces
up to 37 points with the Suns picking on the West Coast backline with their excess
possession and field position.
West Coast mid-season draft pick Jai Culley may have next weekend off. Culley
appeared to raise his right elbow and make high contact with Suns midfielder Noah
Anderson in the second quarter. The contact didn’t seem to be too serious like Anderson
he continued to play, but it was an ugly and completely unnecessary action for the 19-year-old who was
playing his third senior game for the Eagles.
He was substituted out of the game with a hamstring injury in the fourth term.