Suns outshine Power to cap off Darwin excursion: Lessons learned
The Gold Coast Suns improved to a 7-3 record and gave themselves a shot at a top four berth come the end of Round Ten, with a somewhat uninspiring victory over Port Adelaide in tough Darwin conditions on Friday night.
Keeping their undefeated streak in the Northern Territory capital alive, the Suns survived a last minute jumpscare from the Power to claim a tenth win at the venue from as many outings with a 15.8 (98) to 10.13 (73) victory.
The game was a tale of two periods, defined by a second-quarter push from Port Adelaide.
After coughing up a lead, Port put together a ripping ten minutes filled with crucial pressure acts being converted into goals to give them a narrow lead as the clock counted down into the final seven minutes of the first half.
Then, the Suns turned the Power off, almost instantly.
From that point onwards, the Suns won four straight centre clearances, resulting in four straight goals, and the margin ballooned out from there.
Noah Anderson was at the forefront of it, collecting possessions at will, while John Noble continued his stellar work off half back to build on the ripping form he’s showcased in recent weeks.
Port’s skill level turned to mush, and the Suns put the foot down to all but put the game to bed.
The Power did, however, muster one last tilt in the dying minutes. Led by Zak Butters in the guts, the “visitors” booted three straight goals to cut the margin to 20 with about seven minutes left to go.
They had their chances from there, too, but kicking three behinds and shanking all manner of balls around the ground within a three minute stretch allowed Jed Walter to finish things off.
So, as I said, a game defined by two periods: pre-Port Adelaide’s second quarter dash, and post.
Overall, I took it as a pretty uninspiring win for the Suns. Coach Damien Hardwick will no doubt be happy to leave Darwin with eight premiership points in his carry-on, but privately, I think he’d be pretty unhappy about the way his side played in both matches.
They seem to have just gone through the motions up in the top end, and while it’s been enough to secure victories, I’ll be interested to see what kind of Suns outfit arrives to play North Melbourne at Marvel next week.
For Port, well, there’s not a great deal to say. They aren’t completely without bright spots, but their skills are woeful and it prevents them from competing against competent teams.
Anyway, the intro has been fleshed out more than enough, shall we get into some talking points?
Gold Coast’s half backs deserve the credit their midfield gets
We hear plenty about the Suns’ mids, and for good reason. Anderson, Rowell, Petracca: It’s a scary combination.
You know what else is a scary combination? Rioli, Noble, Uwland (the Bodhi variety).
Last week they sliced and diced their way through the Saints like I carve my way through a kebab after a night out (that is to say, mercilessly), and they backed it up in fine fashion against Port.
Noble collected 31 disposals and snuck forward for a goal, stats that Uwland made a direct mirror of with 31 and a goal of his own. Rioli followed closely with 23, giving the three of them a combined 85 disposals and two goals.
Much like their entire team, I’d like to see this trio perform in more challenging circumstances against better teams on the road, but it’s not as if they don’t have runs on the board.
They staked their claim as genuine trouble for opposition sides last season, and they’re building on that now.
Port’s midfield is their only avenue to success
Or, to put it bluntly, this team would be absolutely cactus without Zak Butters or Jason Horne-Francis.
Now, in totality, Horne-Francis was not at his best tonight. He finished with 17 touches and six tackles, but he struggled to have impact across four quarters.
Still, I’d like to bring your attention to that second-quarter surge I mentioned earlier, where Port kicked three on the trot to ever-so-briefly claim the lead.
In that 10-or-so minute, it was Butters and Horne-Francis doing the work. The duo got hot around the middle, shell-shocked the Suns’ mids with their brute physicality, and it began to pay off on the scoreboard with majors to Corey Durdin, Joe Richards, and Ewan Mackinlay.
However, it was evident at the time, this team will only go as far as that duo takes them.
Once those two either need a rest, or simply go out of the game for five minutes, Port Adelaide pays a massive price.
It’s a dire over-reliance on a couple of star midfielders, and I dread to think what the Power will look like if Butters does indeed pack his bags this off-season.
I’m not big on Darwin games
Now, hear me out. I love what they do for the community in the top end, and I thoroughly enjoy watching 20 kids in the crowd play a version of British Bulldog while trying to pinch errant footies after goals.
It’s obvious the games are a highlight for the locals, and I’m happy they get this opportunity to watch the top level.
But man, after having to report on TIO Stadium matches in back-to-back weeks, I’ve had my fill.
For starters, the conditions suck. John Noble mentioned after this one he thought it was a shade cooler than last week, but somehow much sweatier… make that make sense.
The ball slides around like it’s in a Bangaldesh monsoon stream, and any team that doesn’t play there regularly looks cooked by half time (Port was cooked ten minutes before half time).
After watching the Suns play the Saints last week, I feel like I’ve just watched a carbon copy of the same game twice.
I mean, the AFL really has gone troppo!
Fair play to you, Darwin, you look bloody fun in the crowd, but I think I’ll pass on reviewing these next year.
Speaking of midfield duos, the Suns is still finding its feet in 2026
I’ve already flagged that Noah Anderson was particularly impressive in this game.
Racking up 33 disposals, eight clearances, and 958m gained (I hate that stat, but that’s bloody impressive), he had his prints all over this one.
But his running mate, Brownlow medallist Matt Rowell, had a mixed bag on return after sitting out last week.
While 23 disposals and six clearances is nothing to sneeze at, Rowell didn’t have his usual eye-catching performance.
Still, it was a step in the right direction.
Injury has hampered the superstar mid so far this year, and his fitness is vital to any hope the Suns have of running deep into September. If he can string together a clean run over the next month, they’ll be all the better for it.
Mitch Georgiades needs new boots
Either that, or find whoever the hell has a voodoo doll of this bloke.
It was a forgettable night for the Power’s star forward in this one, as he bagged just one goal and sprayed three other chances to finish without much impact on the contest.
He’s now kicked 26 goals, 25 behinds on the year, but his last four matches have been particularly bad in front of the sticks.
He booted 4.4 against the Western Bulldogs, 3.3 against Adelaide, and 4.6 against the Cats before that.
Throw tonight into the mix, and he’s 12.16 over his last four games.
He’s still kicking bags (barring tonight), but imagine the damage he could be doing if he straightened up a little.
Two of those games, against Adelaide and the Dogs, were tight losses that could easily have been victories if not for some missed opportunities – though to lay that all at Georgiades’ feet is cruelly unfair.
All I’m saying is, it starts out as the yips, but eventually poor kicking from what is your only reliable source of goals becomes a serious detriment to your football team.
Jack Whitlock stood no chance against Mac Andrew
With Sam Collins taking primary responsibility for Georgiades, the talented Mac Andrew was left to guard young key forward Jack Whitlock.
While the 19-year-old has shown plenty of promise in his early goings, he didn’t have much hope against Mac tonight.
Andrew finished with 22 disposals and pulled in nine marks tonight, while Whitlock only touched the ball nine times for just two behinds.
The Suns defender is putting together a very impressive season, earning him some All-Australian buzz on the broadcast.
No doubt young Whitlock will learn plenty from the encounter, but he was soundly covered tonight.
And some rapid fire to finish us off:
- I liked the game from Joe Berry. He was cooked late, but the first-round draft choice looks a cut above most of his teammates for class and finish. He might always wear the fact he was drafted ahead of Murphy Reid like an albatross around his neck, but I reckon he goes alright.
- Jamarra Ugle-Hagan was a late out tonight, and you could easily argue that helped the Suns. They replaced him with Jarrod Witts, which gave Gold Coast a look at a two-ruck setup with Ned Moyle in the team as well. I thought it worked well against Port’s own, less impactful, dual rucks.
- Speaking of Moyle, three goals from the big fella is a good night out. That’ll always help tilt the ruck duel in your favour.
- I understand the conditions don’t help, but Port Adelaide’s skills were sub-AFL level tonight. Looked like a country team running around out there at times, with a litany of missed kicks and handballs hitting the grass.
Alrighty, I’m going to make like a Liberal party leader and get the hell out of here. So long, Darwin. It has not been fun.
