Match

Gold Coast Suns vs Melbourne

Commentary / 31 Jul 2021

Pre Game

00:00
Today is the 15th contest between these two sides and the first time they have met at Marvel Stadium. The Suns have lost their last eight games against the Demons, with their most recent win coming in Round 5, 2014.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
02:18
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
03:53
Suns Interchange - Zac Smith off due to the blood rule.
06:42
Melbourne has managed to control the ball early on leading the inside 50's (4-0) and has managed six tackles inside their forward 50. The most forward 50 tackles they have laid in a quarter this year is 11.
06:50
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Tom McDonald)
08:06
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Touk Miller)
09:15
Unsurprisingly, Melbourne has an 8-1 lead in hitouts early in this game. The Demons are ranked first in the league in hitouts (43.3), while the Suns rank last (25.8).
10:37
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
11:34
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
12:13
Bailey Fritsch slots the Demon's second goal to give them a 13 point advantage. The Demons are kicking at 71% efficiency in their forward half of the ground. They are ranked 17th in kicking efficiency this year (64.1%).
13:50
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ben Brown)
15:42
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Chris Burgess)
16:28
Chris Burgess slots the Suns first for the day from just their second inside 50. Burgess' mark was just their sixth for the game. The Suns rank second in the league for marks averaging 106.2.
19:17
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Alex Sexton)
19:48
In the last five minutes, the Suns have managed to gain some ascendency, leading disposals (20-6), contested possessions (6-3), and kicking 2 goals.
20:31
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Bayley Fritsch)
24:55
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Josh Corbett)
26:22
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Josh Corbett)
27:08
Josh Corbett's goal was the Sun's second goal sourced from a defensive midfield turnover. They have had seven chains of play begin in this area with four resulting in inside 50's.
27:38
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Luke Jackson)
28:53
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
30:38
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
31:53
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Luke Jackson)
32:19
Melbourne has scored 4.3 (27) from forward half intercepts and 5.3 (33) in total from intercepts this quarter. They rank fourth in points from intercepts, averaging 54.4 a game.
33:03
Clayton Oliver finished the term with 10 disposals at 70 % efficiency. He also had a game-high 8 contested possessions. He is averaging a career-high 17.1 contested possessions - ranked number one in the league.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:50
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Clayton Oliver)
05:43
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ben Brown)
06:07
Melbourne has now taken six set shots for gaol and has converted all six into goals, kicking 6.0 (36).
07:51
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (James Harmes)
08:53
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Luke Jackson)
09:32
This is the first time Luke Jackson has kicked three goals in a game in his career. He had previously kicked two goals on three separate occasions.
11:28
The Suns have only managed to take 21 marks for the game. From these 21 marks, they have not played on once. Melbourne has taken 31 marks and played on 17% of the time.
11:51
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Charlie Spargo)
13:54
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Max Gawn)
14:32
Max Gawn kicks the Demon's seventh goal in a row and fifth for the term. The Demons have had 55 more disposals than the Suns who rank 18th in disposal differential losing the disposal count on average by 26.3 per game.
15:26
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (David Swallow)
16:28
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (James Harmes)
19:32
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Clayton Oliver)
22:09
The Demons have been well on top in the clearances this term (10-5) with Max Gawn giving his team first use of the ball with four hitouts to advantage (seven for the game). The Demons have scored 3.2 (20) from stoppages for the term.
22:58
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Luke Jackson)
26:27
One statistic Gold Coast is leading is the tackle count (42-30). Touk Miller, Sam Flanders, and Brayden Fiorini each have 5 tackles for the Suns. They average 64.1 a game - ranked one.
30:06
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
30:53
Clayton Oliver finishes the first half with 23 disposals, 12 contested possessions, seven score involvements, kicked 1.1 (7), and has had 9 clearances. The most clearances he has had this year were 14 in Round 10 versus Adelaide.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
01:05
Jake Lever has taken four marks from opposition kicks already in this game, six is the most he has taken in a game this year. The Demons have taken 16 in total, 12 more than the Suns.
01:06
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Tom McDonald)
04:14
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Kysaiah Pickett)
04:50
The Demons have now managed 20 tackles inside their forward 50, their most of any game this year. In comparison, the Suns have not laid one. The most tackles inside 50 in a game this year came from the Swans with 35 against the Demons in Round 8.
05:56
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ben Brown)
06:16
Ben Brown's third goal was sourced from a stoppage. The Demons have scored 6.3 (39) from this source today. This year they rank 11 in scores from stoppage averaging 26.7 points.
09:00
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Tom McDonald)
14:04
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Max Gawn)
15:20
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Tom Sparrow)
16:13
Melbourne has now kicked 12 goals in a row. Gold Coast's last goal came at the 26-minute mark of the first quarter. Since the first quarter, Melbourne has kicked 10.7 (67) to 0.1 (1).
18:29
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
23:07
Demons Interchange - Tom McDonald off due to an injury.
23:08
Melbourne leads the inside 50 count 19-3 in the third quarter and 53-16 for the game. The lowest amount of inside 50's the Suns have managed this year is 39 on two occasions.
25:34
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Max Gawn)
27:07
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Ben Brown)
28:53
This is the first time that Ben Brown has kicked at least four goals since Round 22, 2019, when he kicked ten goals against Port Adelaide playing for North Melbourne.
30:45
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
31:44
For Gold Coast, Touk Miller continues to work hard amassing team-highs in disposals (27), clearances (6), and inside 50's (6). He also has 394 metres gained which is the second most for the Suns behind Jack Lukosius' 530.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:37
Christian Petracca failed to score from a set shot inside 50. From his 14 kicks today only seven have been effective, an efficiency of 50%. Last week was the first time he posted a kicking efficiency of under 50% in his career, hitting the target with 49.7% of his kicks.
05:05
SCORE GOAL - Demons (Christian Petracca)
05:51
Petracca rectifies his last set shot, scoring his first of the day. This goal was sourced from a chain beginning in their defensive 50. For the game, Melbourne has had 17 chains start in their defensive 50 with 53% of these resulting in an inside 50.
07:01
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Josh Corbett)
07:05
That behind from Josh Corbett was the Sun's first score since the 16-minute mark of the second quarter, a behind for David Swallow.
11:06
Suns Interchange - Chris Burgess off due to an injury.
11:55
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Steven May)
14:04
Charlie Ballard has managed five intercept possessions and four marks from opposition kicks in the fourth term. In total, he has eight for the game only bettered by teammate Sam Collins (9). Ballard averages the most intercept possessions for the Suns this year (6.4).
14:43
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Angus Brayshaw)
15:27
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Rushed)
17:12
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Ben Brown)
17:21
Gold Coast has not managed to get their possession game going today. This year, they rank second in short kicks (98.9) and second in marks (106.2). Today they have only managed 66 short kicks and 77 marks.
19:31
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Joel Jeffrey)
20:46
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Sam Flanders)
21:11
Demons Interchange - Christian Salem and is possibly out for the game.
23:45
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)
25:08
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (Jack Viney)
26:20
SCORE BEHIND - Demons (James Harmes)
27:08
Gold Coast struggled to get the ball inside their 50. They had 64 chains of play start in their defensive 50, with only two of these resulting in an inside 50. In total, they lost the inside 50 count 71-27, the lowest amount of inside 50's of any team this year.