It was a thumping victory for the Gold Coast Suns last weekend, complete with their highest score and their biggest winning margin. In a month’s time, it could be four on the trot.
Of course you have to take into account that they played Greater Western Sydney but the match was held in Canberra, where the Giants knocked them off this time last year.
Nor was it the win, but how impressive Gold Coast looked doing it. With 43 scoring shots to 24, they set club records for their highest-scoring quarter, most marks inside 50, best contested possession differential, and most goals by a player.
Charlie Dixon’s confidence in bagging those six goals reflected that of the team, with the big forward consistently marking at the high point of the incoming ball.
During last year’s pre-season Gold Coast were widely tipped to win about six games. They managed two.
This year, the first five rounds have already yielded that many wins plus a two-point loss to Brisbane.
In coming weeks they have Melbourne away in Round 7, then the Bulldogs at home in Round 8.
Meaning if they can get over Fremantle at home in Round 6 this weekend, the Suns could end up with a four-game winning streak.
Factor in their home stretch against Melbourne, Port Adelaide, St Kilda, and the Giants, and Gold Coast could be eyeing around eight wins for the season.
Fremantle are a formidable side this year, but they travel all the way from Perth to Metricon Stadium with no Matthew Pavlich, Kepler Bradley, Aaron Sandilands, Nat Fyfe, or probably Zac Clarke.
They’re so understaffed that they’re considering defenders Alex Silvagni and Tanner Smith – the latter having played just one game – as emergency forwards.
Freo nearly lost at Metricon last year, and the Suns will be full of confidence that they can make home ground advantage work for them as they consolidate their position in the comp.
Gold Coast copped a lot of stick last year, with plenty predicting that GWS would surpass them in years to come based on Gold Coast’s lack of development.
But I reckon you can put a lot of 2012 down to the second-year blues.
They’re not imaginary. Your second year in elite football is tough. Suddenly the opposition pays you much more attention, and understands how you play.
Despite the insistence of respecting the opposition, the instructions against a first-year side would pretty much have been “You’re on this guy, we know you’re better than him, off we go.”
Any existing club would back their structures against a new side, and while they would generally be justified, it gives unknown players a chance to slip the leash.
Fast forward a year, and the same opponents have had the chance to analyse your strengths and weaknesses.
There’s also the physical strain of keeping up with the game’s demands, and the psychological strain of maintaining that top-level intensity.
Usually there’ll only be one or two second-year players in a team, meaning senior players can protect and shepherd them a little.
When 15 of your players are second year, they’re completely exposed. Nonetheless, Gold Coast have learnt from this and come out a better unit.
Their game style is decent, they’re competing better, they hold themselves well in the contest. Metricon could become a really difficult trip, and we’ll see how serious Gold Coast fans are this weekend, with few purple supporters likely to make the trip.
The Suns are probably three years away from 12 wins in a year to get in the hunt for finals. But when they are, look out.
They’ll retain the best part of their list: they’ve created a good environment that shows they’re improving all the time. Those players who’ve started off the process will be keen to stick around.
Just look at Jack Martin, too young to play until 2014, signed recently on a five-year deal. That’s unheard of for a junior, but he’s a gun, and they don’t want him going anywhere. In a few years he’ll be a key player in their side.
Zac Smith, Trent McKenzie, Seb Tape, Rory Thompson, Jackson Allen, Clay Cameron and Dixon have all signed new contracts this year. The core group will stick together.
In three years you’ll see Gary Ablett patrolling the forward fifty with this raft of talent in the middle. Karmichael Hunt will be tagging or weighing in as an impact centre. Campbell Brown and Nathan Bock may not be required.
Whatever they win this year, in another three years’ time, they’ll be fielding a team of 15 former elite juniors, all of whom by then will have played 100 games.
That’s going to be something worth crossing the Nullarbor for.
Who’s in your ultimate team? Pick the best team and compete with other fans for daily prizes on Draftstars. For the best odds on the game try out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Think. Is this a bet you really want to place? Set a deposit limit.
Round 5 of the AFL provided plenty of action, from big scorelines to upset wins and pressure starting to build on some clubs and coaches already.
Geelong has been crafty and creative in its list management and has quietly assembled a very exciting young group of midfielders and half-forwards.
Brisbane co-captain Lachie Neale will be looking to lead his team to a victory against Melbourne in what will be his 250th AFL game.
Fremantle football general manager Joe Brierty has staunchly defended backman Jordan Clark, following his role in the umpire dissent controversy that dominated headlines following…
Fremantle defender Jordan Clark has told the Dockers the abusive words that saw him penalised for umpire dissent in the dying minutes of their…
If you're a Fremantle fan - and I'm basing this on the social media reaction to what happened on Saturday afternoon at the Adelaide…
