Match

Gold Coast Suns vs Hawthorn

Commentary / 25 Jun 2023

Pre Game

00:00
Since Round 11, the Suns have won the contested possession count by 17.3 per game – ranked No.1 – but lost the uncontested possession count by 61.7 – ranked last.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:58
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
02:12
Dylan Moore slots the first goal of the afternoon, with the goal coming from a forward 50 turnover. Only the Eagles are averaging less points from this source this season, with the Hawks averaging 3.4 points from forward 50 turnovers per game.
05:50
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Mitch Lewis)
06:17
Mitch Lewis scores his first of the game, with the goal coming from Jai Newcombe's clearance. Mitch Lewis has scored a goal in every game he has played this season.
08:27
The Suns have had five of the last seven clearances of the game. They average 2.8 more clearances than their opponent on average this season - ranked third in the AFL.
11:38
Hawthorn are leading the contested possession count 18-11 currently, which is a big effort considering the Suns have the best contested possession differential this season - averaging 8.8 more than their opponent this year.
14:13
Mitch Lewis boots his second goal of the game becoming the first multiple goal scorer this afternoon. The Hawks are dominating territory. They have had seven of the first 10 inside 50s, 68% of game time has been spent in their forward half and have been able to score from 50% of their inside 50s.
15:19
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Ben Ainsworth)
16:51
Ben Ainsworth stops a run of three goals, kicking the Gold Coast's first goal of the game from a centre bounce. The Suns score the fifth least amount of points from this zone this season - scoring 8.5 points from centre bounces on average.
20:18
The Suns have started to get their game into motion, having the last five inside 50 entries. Despite this, they have only retained 38% of their entries for the game - well below Hawthorn's inside 50 retention rate of 71%.
24:12
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Jacob Koschitzke)
24:48
Hawthorn has been unable to move the ball with damage from their defensive 50. They have not launched an inside 50 or a score from this zone this afternoon, but have launched the fifth most points from this zone out of any team in the AFL - averaging 14.8 points.
26:49
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Jack Lukosius)
29:50
The Hawks had the early dominance in the first quarter, having the ability to win the ball on the inside and getting the ball to the outside having 10 more contested possessions and 14 more uncontested possessions.

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
01:05
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Rushed)
01:58
Hawthorn has brought the pressure in this game, registering a 192 pressure factor, well above their season average of 175 where they are ranked fourth-last.
03:37
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Bailey Humphrey)
05:20
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Jarrod Witts)
06:50
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Ben King)
08:40
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Levi Casboult)
09:29
Although the Suns have been unable to convert their early chances this quarter, they have turned all but one of their chains into inside 50s this quarter (five of their six chains). In comparison, the Hawks have only converted three of their eight chains into inside 50s.
09:40
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Levi Casboult)
11:10
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Brandon Ellis)
12:14
The Gold Coast are finally rewarded with a goal to stretch the margin out to eight points. Five of their nine scores have been launched from their forward 50. On average, they launch five scores from this zone each game this season.
12:25
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Brandon Ellis)
14:04
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)
15:20
The Suns have been able to gain territory from their intercepts in the second term, averaging 62 metres gained from turnovers (they average 47.7 for the season). In comparison, the Hawks are only averaging 27 metres gained from intercepts in this quarter when they average 48.1 for the season.
18:43
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Dylan Moore)
18:49
The Suns have had 13 of the last 15 inside 50s and have improved their inside 50 kicking from the first quarter. They are retaining 54% of their inside 50 kicks in comparison to Hawthorn's 33%. The Suns are averaging a kick retention rate of 46.8% which is slightly below the AFL average.
21:22
SCORE BEHIND - Hawks (Lachlan Bramble)
23:55
Both teams are struggling to score from snap shots. The Suns have scored four points and the Hawks have scored two points from this zone in the second term. The Suns have converted 40.8% of their snaps this season (ranked 8th), whereas the Hawks have only converted 35.6% (ranked 14th).
24:30
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)
27:41
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Jack Lukosius)
30:11
Gold Coast leads by 10 points at the main break largely due to their stoppage dominance. They have had four more clearances and two more goals from stoppages than the Hawks. Brayden Fiorini has been a huge influence in this game, having 18 disposals at 89% efficiency, of which seven were won in a contested manner, four clearances and four score launches that resulted in 2.2 (14) on the scoreboard (seven more points than the next most).

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
02:14
Although Jarrod Witts is winning the hitout count 8-6 against Ned Reeves, Hawthorn has had six more clearances and has scored 8-0 points when these two having been rucking opponents.
02:22
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
02:47
Luke Breust breaks the goal drought for the Hawks as he converts the opening goal of the quarter. The Hawks were held goalless in the second quarter – with that becoming the seventh quarter this season where they have not scored a goal.
04:13
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Ben King)
04:22
Ben King instantly replies with the Gold Coast's first goal of the half, with the goal sourcing from another centre bounce. Last week, centre bounces was an issue for the Suns. They conceded 50 points from centre bounces and did not register a score themselves from this source.
06:20
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Ben King)
07:57
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Levi Casboult)
08:51
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Bailey Humphrey)
09:16
This game has been well and truly been played in the each teams respective forward half - neither team has generated a goal from their defensive half.
14:43
Ben King has already been targeted nine times inside 50 this evening for a return of 2.1 (13) on the scoreboard. He has been the Gold Coast's most targeted player when going inside 50 this season - being targeted 6.7 times on average each game.
15:19
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Jack Lukosius)
16:28
Jack Lukosius' goal becomes the first goal tonight generated from a defensive half chain, with it sourcing from a defensive midfield stoppage. The Suns score from 19.8% of their defensive midfield clearances - ranked third in the league.
17:05
SCORE GOAL - Suns (David Swallow)
19:49
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)
21:00
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)
21:54
The Hawks are losing the inside 50 count 47-25. They have the fifth worst inside 50 differential this season - averaging 3.5 fewer inside 50s than their opponent.
22:48
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Nick Holman)
25:20
SCORE GOAL - Hawks (Luke Breust)
25:32
Luke Breust stops a run of five goals in a row from the Suns, with the goal coming from a stoppage. Hawthorn kicks the third fewest points from this source on average - scoring 28.8 points a game from this zone.
29:32
The Suns were able to score from an even spread of zones in the third quarter, kicking a goal sourced from their defensive 50, defensive midfield, centre bounce, attacking midfield and forward 50.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
00:43
Mac Andrew has been a pillar in defence, taking a career-high five intercept marks and having a team-high seven intercept possessions.
03:26
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)
05:44
The Suns have been strong in 1v1 marking contests. They have won 33% of these tonight in comparison to the Hawks' 21%. This season, the Gold Coast rank sixth and Hawthorn rank fifth for 1v1 contest win percentage.
06:03
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Jack Lukosius)
06:53
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)
08:48
Although Hawthorn has had 14 fewer repeat inside 50s in comparison to Gold Coast, the Hawks have scored one more goal than the Suns from this source.
10:52
The Hawks have tried to move the ball with intent and pace, registering a mark play on percentage that is 10% higher and having 46 more handball receives than the Suns, but haven't had the connection they would've wanted between their midfield and forwards lines. They have retained the ball from 26% of their kicks inside 50, whereas the Suns have retained it 50% of the time.
13:13
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)
13:50
Malcolm Rosas slots the first goal of the last term with the goal coming from Bailey Humphrey's possession gain. The Suns have now kicked six of the last seven goals of the game.
15:39
Suns Interchange - David Swallow and is possibly out for the game.
15:58
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Rushed)
19:13
The Suns have been in possession of the ball for 49% of the game in comparison to the Hawks' 37%. In 2023, 87.2% of teams that win the time in possession count win the match.
19:25
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)
21:10
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Noah Anderson)
22:36
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Malcolm Rosas)
23:37
Although they have been outplayed, Blake Hardwick has broken his career-high disposals of 32, having 38 disposals to this point in time. In addition to this, Conor Nash has had a career-high clearance count of nine.
24:39
SCORE GOAL - Suns (Noah Anderson)
27:22
SCORE BEHIND - Suns (Ben King)
27:33
A game to forget for the Hawks. They had two goalless quarters as well as kicking their lowest score since 2020. After scoring the first three goals of the match, they went on to concede 14 of the next 16 goals.