Just how the Gold Coast Suns were going to respond to the news that their skipper would not play again this season was their biggest challenge against the Western Bulldogs on Saturday.
The Dogs had agreed to host this match in Cairns, after Richmond chose not to renew its presence in far north Queensland. The Tigers returned just one victory from their three appearances there.
However, the move worked for the Dogs, as Brendan McCartney’s men relished the challenge and kicked six unanswered goals in the final quarter to register a well-deserved 28-point victory, marking just their sixth win for this season.
With regular ball winner Gary Ablett missing, someone else had to step up, and the man who did that was Jackson Macrae, who has not yet turned 20 but has already shown why the Bulldogs invested in him at the 2012 draft, racking up 43 touches.
It came after he was savagely criticised for his poor effort against the Cats last week.
While the Bulldogs’ victory vindicates their decision to sell their game against the Suns to Cairns, it further exposes their opponents’ continued struggles without Gary Ablett, with their loss being their sixth from as many matches in which their skipper has missed through injury.
The Suns’ loss keeps them in eighth place on the ladder, but their percentage took a serious dent, dropping to just under 100per cent.
Adelaide (ninth) and Essendon (tenth) are still snapping at their heels with six rounds remaining in the season, and the Bombers are still to play Collingwood this round.
The Crows had the chance to replace the Suns in the eight on Friday night, but despite the best efforts of Patrick Dangerfield, they went down narrowly to Hawthorn by just twelve points.
The Bombers must beat Collingwood later today if they are to replace the Suns in the eight.
The news that the dual Brownlow Medallist would miss the rest of the season with the shoulder injury he suffered against Collingwood last week may have been hard to accept, but at least it should present a new challenge for the Suns’ other midfielders to stand up and make their mark in his absence.
In his absence, last year’s Rising Star winner Jaeger O’Meara was their best with two goals and 22 disposals, but other than him the Suns lacked other options as the Bulldogs dominated most of the contest.
The Suns will now have next weekend off to cool their heels before they travel up the highway to take on the Brisbane Lions in the eighth annual QClash in the second half of Round 18.
Following that, the Suns will welcome last-placed St Kilda, top four-placed Port Adelaide and West Coast to the holiday strip, while they must also travel down to Etihad Stadium twice for matches against Carlton and Essendon.
Of their six remainders, they should at least defeat the Saints and Blues, while Port should prove too strong as they attempt to keep their top four hopes alive.
Question marks, however, hover over their matches against the Bombers and Eagles in the final two rounds, with the form of both teams being unpredictable this season.
But given their aforementioned poor record without Gary Ablett, whereby they have lost all six matches in which he has been out injured, any chances they have of clinging onto their spot in the top eight is anything but slim.
As already mentioned above, Adelaide and Essendon are both furiously pursuing a place in the finals with the Crows in the strongest position to possibly snatch a finals berth from the Suns by virtue of an easy draw.
Of the Crows’ six remaining matches, four of them are against teams below them on the ladder, with three of them (the West Coast Eagles, Richmond and St Kilda) to visit the picturesque Adelaide Oval.
The Suns’ final six matches would have been a cakewalk with only one team above them that they have to face (Port Adelaide at home in Round 21), had it not been for Gary Ablett’s shoulder injury from which he is now recovering from surgery.
However, his absence for the rest of the season will certainly conspire against them as they attempt to keep their place in the top eight. The big question will be whether the Suns can overcome his absence and keep their place in the eight.
If they could defeat Collingwood without him (not only that, but also three other players) in a single quarter of football, then there should be no reason why they can’t do it over the course of a full match.
While they may have failed the test against the Western Bulldogs in Cairns on Saturday, there are still six more opportunities to do so. Let’s just hope the Suns’ season does not collapse just because of a serious injury or two.
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