Match

Gold Coast Suns vs West Coast Eagles

Commentary / 28 Apr 2024

Pre Game

00:00

Matt Rowell claims over 68 per cent of his possessions in a contested situation, almost ten per cent more than any of the other 31 players in the top 32 for average disposals per game in the AFL in 2024.

Quarter 1

00:00

Q1 is now underway.

00:51

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Ryan Maric)

01:22

The Eagles strike with a goal from just their second disposal of the match, after winning the first centre clearance through Elliot Yeo. No team has outscored their opponents by more points per game from centre clearance chains over the last three rounds than the Eagles (9.6 per game).

03:34

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Elliot Yeo)

05:28

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jake Waterman)

05:42

Three inside 50's for three goals to West Coast. One from a centre clearance, one from a forward 50 clearance and that goal to Waterman from a defensive 50 intercept possession.

09:29

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Jarrod Witts)

10:21

Jarrod Witts kicks his first goal of the season to get the Suns on the board. That goal is the Suns 14th from a free kick in 2024, ranked equal second in the AFL.

11:02

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Ben King)

13:32

Gold Coast lead the pre-clearance contested possession count 12-4 early in this match. They outperform their opponents by an average of 2.3 pre-clearance contested possessions per game in 2024, ranked sixth in the AFL.

14:29

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Jack Petruccelle)

16:40

Gold Coast have been able to convert six of their seven clearances into inside 50 entries so far in today's match, with their seventh located inside their forward 50 arc. By comparison, only one of the Eagles four clearances has entered their forward 50 which was the opening centre clearance of the match.

20:29

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Nick Holman)

22:15

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Bailey Humphrey)

23:34

The Eagles have been a little more successful when moving the ball out of their defensive half than the Suns so far in today's match. The Eagles have generated an inside 50 from 43 per cent of their possession chains out of defence, compared to just 20 per cent success for Gold Coast.

25:35

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Noah Anderson)

30:13

Gold Coast have recorded 18 first possessions after a ruck contest in the first term of today's match. This is their most in any quarter this season and the equal-fourth most by any side in 2024.

30:19

West Coast were able to retain possession from 38 per cent of their kicks inside 50 in the first term, which was representative of their superior forward half kicking efficiency rate for the quarter (69 per cent to the Suns 44 per cent).

Quarter 2

00:00

Q2 is now underway.

00:48

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Sam Day)

01:35

After surrendering the first centre clearance of the game for a goal, the Suns return the favour with the first goal of the second term coming from the first centre clearance of this term. The Suns have outscored their opponents by an average of 1.5 points per game from this source in 2024, ranked sixth in the AFL.

03:06

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Petruccelle)

04:26

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Bailey Humphrey)

06:07

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Ben Ainsworth)

06:25

After taking just one mark inside 50 in the first term, the Suns have converted their second and third marks in this zone for goals in the second quarter. The Suns have scored 39.4 per cent of their total score in 2024 from shots at goal from marks in 2024, the fifth-lowest share of any side from this shot source.

07:48

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Bailey Humphrey)

10:11

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jake Waterman)

12:34

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Ben King)

13:05

After spending 63 per cent of the first term in their forward half, the Suns are enjoying the exact same ratio for the second term to this point. The difference has been their ball use by foot has improved drastically, kicking at 75 per cent efficiency, with all four of their kicks entering their forward 50 this term finding a teammate.

14:15

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Darling)

15:49

Jack Darling has now moved past club legend Peter Sumich to be ranked second outright for goals at West Coast, kicking his 515th goal for the club. Darling holds the club record for contested marks (454), and ranks fifth for tackles (795) highlighting his all-round value for the Eagles.

20:46

Jarrod Witts was influential in the first term as he recorded four clearances, four tackles and four score involvements to lead all players in each metric. Bailey Williams has done a good job of nullifying this influence from his direct opponent in the second term, as Witts is yet to record another stat in all three of these categories since the first break.

24:56

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Will Graham)

27:36

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Bailey Humphrey)

28:26

After scoring just one point from their chains of possession coming out of defence in the first half, the Suns have scored three goals from their back half in this term. Since Round 4, they have outscored their opponents by five points per game out of their defensive half, ranked fourth in the AFL.

29:45

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Tim Kelly)

30:45

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jake Waterman)

31:06

West Coast's 34 marks in this quarter are their most in any quarter since the second term of their Round 23 clash against the Bulldogs last year when they took 42.

32:12

The Suns have recorded almost twice as many handball-receives as the Eagles in today's match (54-30). They have also gained 277 metres of territory via handball in the first half. This is their highest tally in any half of their matches this season, and the sixth-highest first half figure of any side in this category in 2024.

Quarter 3

00:00

Q3 is now underway.

01:14

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jamie Cripps)

01:22

The Eagles open the scoring with a goal through Jamie Cripps. They have now kicked six goals from seven set shots. The Eagles average set shot accuracy of 43 per cent in 2024 is the second-lowest of any side.

02:51

SUNS Interchange - Sam Clohesy off due to an injury.

03:11

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Jake Rogers)

03:54

After providing the assist for two goals in the first half, Jake Rogers kicks the first goal of his young AFL career. Only Jake Waterman has had more scoreboard impact in today's match (25 points scored or assisted) thank Rogers (18).

04:33

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Ben Ainsworth)

09:58

SCORE BEHIND - Eagles (Elliot Yeo)

10:33

Gold Coast have been dominating the stoppages all game long, and this term is no exception. They lead contested possessions 17-6, clearances 6-0 including 3-0 at the centre bounce and inside 50's from clearances 4-0 for the quarter.

11:54

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Noah Anderson)

15:58

After both teams fell below the league average pressure rating in the second term (176-158 in favour of West Coast), both teams are rating at over 200 in the third term to this point, with the Eagles leading 214-201. The Suns rank equal sixth for average pressure rating applied (183), while the Eagles rank last (170) in 2024.

20:29

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Sam Day)

22:01

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Ben King)

22:15

Ben King kicks Gold Coast's fifth goal from at least 40 metres out from the goal line for today's match. Prior to Round 7, the Suns had scored 26 goals from this distance in 2024, ranked ninth in the AFL.

27:17

Campbell Chesser has been replaced by the tactical substitute Dom Sheed who comes in for his first game of 2024.

27:51

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Matt Rowell)

29:34

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Matt Rowell)

30:10

Six goals in a row now for the Suns, the last two for Matt Rowell, and the lead is out beyond 30 points. Each of the Suns four primary centre bounce players (Witts, Anderson, Rowell and Miller) have 10 contested possessions or more.

32:58

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Ben Ainsworth)

33:01

After tackling at 75 per cent efficiency in the first half, the Eagles tackle completion rate dropped drastically in the third term to just 57 per cent. Elliot Yeo and Jack Petruccelle were lone bright spots in this regard, completing all six of their individual tackle attempts each for the quarter.

Quarter 4

00:00

Q4 is now underway.

02:08

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jamie Cripps)

05:08

Sam Flanders has recorded 12 uncontested marks in today's match, twice the total of any other player on the ground. This equals his career-high figure in this category, which he recorded against north Melbourne in Round 24 last year.

05:49

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jake Waterman)

06:56

Jake Waterman becomes the 30th Eagles player to kick 100 goals for the club with his game-high fourth today. This goal was the Eagles first for the match to be launched from a clearance chain out of their defensive half.

08:20

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Jed Walter)

09:21

Ironically, with the rain coming down on the Gold Coast, the Eagles ability to generate momentum out of the stoppages has improved. They have generated as many inside 50's from stoppage clearances (three) this term as they did in the previous two quarters combined.

11:57

Gold Coast have entered their forward 50 through the corridor on 23 occasions in today's match, compared to the Eagles nine such inside 50 entries. Prior to today's match, both teams had recorded 118 inside 50's via the corridor in 2024, ranked equal ninth in the AFL.

14:36

Bailey Humphrey has been replaced by the tactical substitute David Swallow.

14:52

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Nick Holman)

15:34

SUNS Interchange - Jarrod Witts off due to the blood rule.

17:15

Despite conceding 10 inside 50's, the Eagles are yet to concede a goal from any of these entries in the final term. The Eagles concede a goal from 27 per cent of their opponents inside 50's in 2024, ranked 17th in the AFL.

19:33

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Brayden Fiorini)

21:39

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Jack Darling)

24:48

SCORE GOAL - Eagles (Liam Ryan)

24:58

Two goals for the Eagles and they might be in with a sniff of stealing it. These two goals were the Eagles first goals from a forward half clearance chain since their second goal of the game.

26:32

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Jed Walter)

26:57

Gold Coast answer quickly with their 17th centre clearance resulting in their third goal for the game from this source. The Suns have now scored 347 points for the season from set shots in 2024, ranking them sixth in the AFL in this regard.

29:11

SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Ben King)

30:11

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Jed Walter)

32:05

SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Ben King)

32:21

Noah Anderson has set new career-high figures in today's match with 19 contested possessions and 12 clearances, surpassing his previous best of 18 contested possessions he recorded on two different occasions and 10 clearances. He also had a game-high 33 disposals and equalled his career-best with 11 inside 50's.

33:30

The Suns beat the Eagles at their strength around the stoppages to run out 37 point winners. 19-7 centre clearance dominance set up the win and they were able to record 10 inside 50's from intercept possessions in all three zones to lock the ball in their forward half.