Karmichael Hunt of the Suns in action during the AFL Round 07 match between the Gold Coast Suns and the Brisbane Lions at the Gabba, Brisbane.
Tonight the Brisbane Lions will host the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba for Q-Clash 2. Last time these teams met to play for the Q Cup, the Suns drew first blood, much to everyone’s surprise. Will Brisbane be able to exact their revenge?
Before the first Q-Clash back in Round Seven, after all the pre-match hype, I speculated here on The Roar whether there would be much to get excited about in a David versus David match-up.
Well, that game actually turned out to be a classic encounter.
An impressive 25,000 were at the Gabba to watch these two ‘tribes’ have at it in the state’s first derby (while across town on the same night, an NRL match drew another 35,000). The Suns emerged victors that night with a come-from-behind eight-point upset, and with that, a rivalry was forged.
Fourteen rounds later, and the situation is similar.
Both teams remain stuck at the bottom of the AFL ladder on 12 points apiece.
Both teams are coming off losses – the Suns losing spectacularly to Geelong, and Brisbane faltering in the last quarter against Adelaide.
And both teams have been exchanging words again.
The Lions vice-captain Tom Rockliff has declared that “it’s payback time” and says the club is treating the match like a grand final. Meanwhile, Suns senior player Michael Rischitelli has said his former Lions teammates did not respect Gold Coast when they last met.
So which team will hold up the Q Cup in Q-Clash 2.0?
Each side has a page-long injured list which has ruled out some of their top players. For the Suns the main omission is Campbell Brown, and for the Lions, his namesake Jonathan.
Brisbane also go without Daniel Rich, Joel Patfull and they continue to play without their tall defender Daniel Merrett. Josh Drummond and Matt McGuire have been recalled for the Lions while the Suns will welcome back Gary Ablett from a hamstring injury, but are yet to bring back their league convert, Karmichael Hunt.
Last time Gold Coast were at unlikely $7.00 odds, but having shown rapid improvement in the last few appearances (bar their Geelong capitulation) the Suns are at $3.00 this time around.
However, Brisbane remain the favourites at $1.37.
The Lions do carry more momentum going into the match. To be fair, they’ve put in some very good performances this year. Patrick Karnezis, Ashley McGrath and Mitch Clarke are all in form at the front while Brown has been absent. But the Lions have been far from solid all season, lacking the ability to finish strongly.
At the last Q-Clash they were yet to post a win. They may have won a couple since, but the problem that plagued them then has continued. Much to the frustration of their supporters, the Lions have come painstakingly close to some well-deserved success time and time again, only to lose in a late collapse.
Not to be ruled out when on song, the Suns have proven they can keep up with the best of them in the AFL. The problem is, when they are off, well, they are way off.
With plenty of talent on hand, winning the clearances combined with a bit of patience in the forward 50 will be the key for Gold Coast dismantling Brisbane.
I expect this one to be a tight game.
These teams have shown how much the Q-Clash means to them. Brisbane should command proceedings for most of the match, but the Suns will keep coming at them.
The deciding factor will be whether or not Brisbane can close out a game for once. If they keep the foot on the pedal, they’ll run out easy winners. But if they don’t – beware of the rising Suns.
db swannie is right
Guest
I'm a Lions fan. I couldn't give a t-- about the Suns, they're a joke of a team, they'll fold in 5 years. I'd rather play the Blues or Pies any day of the week.
The Cattery
Roar Guru
The Roar editors should not really be allowing this sort of trolling. It's silly to allow comments like "no one cares" when the raw statistics of the last Suns vs Lions game put it right up there in good company for any sporting fixture in any sport, full stop. Non-AFL fans hate seeing these very large numbers trotted out time after time (and yes, they are very large numbers, the very largest in the land), and AFL fans don't really want to trot them out ad nauseum, but with such trolling, these same large numbers, the very largest numbers in the land, need to be trotted out ad nausium. It's a vicious cycle. I personally get no great pleasure in telling people over and over just how large the numbers are - they are very, very large numbers, for instance, AFL memberships are more than double the memberships of all other football codes combined. So if no one cares about AFL games, what does that say about the other codes??
SportsFanGC
Roar Guru
dbswannie, mate stop trolling, if your not interested no one cares. There were plenty of people watching last time both in QLD and the rest of Aus.
Rough Conduct
Guest
"the only reason there isn’t any history is because it’s the first season in which both teams have played" Exactly, so why is the AFL pretending there is some sort of history or rivalry? The contrived branding of the "Q-Clash" and the fake hype that surrounds this game is cringe-worthy, it is an insult to all of the real rivalries that exist is Australian sport, the AFL PR department at their best.
db swannie
Guest
Not in denial.. Its the same in Syd.. About 25 K fans at a Swans game ,& about 50=60K watching on TV .
Nathan
Guest
Neck up mate, the only reason there isn't any history is because it's the first season in which both teams have played. 'db swannie is an ignorant nrl fan in denial' might be more appropriate. -- Comment left via The Roar's iPhone app. Download The Roar's iPhone App in the App Store here.
stabpass
Guest
Thats not what he said, ..... " no one will be interested ", clearly he is wrong. 'DB swannie is wrong' would be far more an appropiate name for both of you.
db swannie is right
Guest
Db Swannie is right. The majority of Queensland doesn't care. There's no history, only a manufactured rivalry.
Tony
Guest
Boy, these NRL supporters are quick to attack the AFL! Bring on the usual anti-AFL posters.......
stabpass
Guest
You seem to be interested enough to post, BTW here is the TV ratings for last Q clash, seems to suggest that in fact, there is some interest, for the record, i hope the Suns win again, i like their style. "The first ever meeting between Gold Coast and Brisbane at the Gabba attracted an average of 354,745 viewers to the Fox Sports broadcast, the pay television provider's highest ever AFL figure. It topped the 2007 Essendon-Richmond match in which the Bombers farewelled two of their greats, coach Kevin Sheedy and star player James Hird, watched by 328,436 television viewers. As well as beating that mark, the Gabba match, which was a rare stand-alone Saturday night fixture, also drew a Queensland audience of more than 160,000 on the Ten Network. That was despite being played on the same night as the crosstown NRL meeting between the Brisbane Broncos and Melbourne Storm at Suncorp Stadium." http://www.heraldsun.com.au/sport/afl/suns-lions-clash-sets-ratings-record/story-e6frf9jf-1226052754502 So let me see ........ 25,000 at the game, 160,000 across QLD on FTA, and a AFL record 355,000 on Fox Australia wide, just at a guess that would mean probably around 240,000 QLDers were interested, IMO that makes your comment quite silly.
db swannie
Guest
Tonight the Brisbane Lions will host the Gold Coast Suns at the Gabba for Q-Clash 2. Last time these teams met to play for the Q Cup, the Suns drew first blood, much to everyone’s surprise. Will Brisbane be able to exact their revenge? Aside from the 25K AFL fans in BRissy/GC area..no one will be interested.