Match

Gold Coast Suns vs Fremantle

Commentary / 31 May 2025

Pre Game

00:00
Leo Lombard makes his debut today for the SUNS. Lombard shared the Larke medal last season as the best player at the Under 18 championships, averaging 26 disposals, five clearances and one goal across four games.

Quarter 1

00:00
Q1 is now underway.
01:01
Gold Coast won the first centre bounce clearance of the game, but failed to score from this chain. The SUNS are ranked second in centre bounce clearance differential and points scored from this source.
02:03
The first score of the game to the Dockers came from a forward 50 stoppage. Fremantle has averaged only 5.5 points per game from this source (ranked 17th).
04:11
Fremantle has applied the first four tackles of the game, and it was the last of these by Patrick Voss that generated the second goal for the Dockers. Fremantle averages only 10.2 points per game from forward 50 chains (ranked 17th), but has kicked its first two goals today from such chains.
08:31
Gold Coast has an early 6-2 lead in first possession wins at stoppages, and it was from this source that the SUNS kicked their first goal of the game.
10:28
SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Bodhi Uwland)
10:38
A classy piece of play from Bodhi Uwland has resulted in his first goal in the AFL. Both goals for Gold Coast have come from forward half stoppages. The SUNS have scored from 42 per cent of forward half clearances this season (ranked third).
12:34
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Corey Wagner)
12:49
A third goal from a forward 50 chain for the Dockers. This is already the most Fremantle has scored in a game from these chains in 2025.
16:48
Gold Coast now leads 13-4 in first possession wins at stoppages and has converted this into 9-3 effective clearances. Fremantle has a 12-10 edge in post-clearance contested possessions.
19:03
Gold Coast has had 14 chains starting in its defensive half, with none of these resulting in an inside 50 entry. Fremantle has had nine such chains, with four of these generating an inside 50 entry.
21:10
Ben King has had 50 kicks this season, with a remarkable 47 of these being shots at goal. The spearhead for the SUNS has kicked a behind with his first kick of the game today.
23:38
Fremantle has won three free kicks in the game, and all of these have been for holding the ball. The Dockers lead the tackle count 23-17, with eight of these in the forward 50.
24:18
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Sam Switkowski)
24:29
The Dockers now hold a 9-2 advantage in forward half intercepts and have converted this into 18-0 points scored from this source. The SUNS are the No.1 ranked team in points scored from this source.
26:21
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Corey Wagner)
27:19
Fremantle has generated 12 of the last 13 inside 50 entries with Gold Coast struggling to clear the ball from its defensive half.
29:56
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Shai Bolton)
30:06
The Dockers have averaged 87 ground balls and 82 marks per game this season. Today, Fremantle has won 27 ground balls and taken just five marks, playing well in a chaotic game partly due to the slippery conditions.
30:36
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Patrick Voss)
31:46
Another goal from a forward half intercept for the Dockers, who now lead 25-0 in points scored from this source. Fremantle averages 23 points per game from forward half intercepts.
32:39
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Caleb Serong)
32:58
An excellent opening quarter from the Dockers, who dominated territory through 13-2 forward half intercepts and recorded 11 tackles in the forward 50 (they average 9.8 per game).

Quarter 2

00:00
Q2 is now underway.
00:10
Sam Switkowski was excellent in the opening quarter for the Dockers, contributing eight disposals (at 100 per cent efficiency), five score involvements and three tackles to be a key player in driving the forward half game for Fremantle.
02:23
Luke Jackson has been used as both a second ruck and centre bounce midfielder today. The versatile Jackson leads all Dockers for disposals (10) and contested possessions (6).
04:19
Gold Coast has generated an inside 50 entry from 27 per cent of its defensive 50 chains this season (ranked third). Today, the SUNS have not generated one inside 50 entry from 24 such chains.
06:41
Fremantle has stuck 87 per cent of its tackle attempts today. This season, the Dockers have averaged tackle efficiency of 68 per cent (ranked fourth).
09:27
The SUNS continue to have the better of the stoppages, leading first possession wins 24-11, clearances 18-12 and following the goal from Ben Long, also lead 20-7 in points scored from stoppages.
11:14
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Ben Long)
11:54
Gold Coast has had only one scoring shot from within 40 metres of the goal. Fremantle has generated six of its scores from within 40 metres. This has contributed to the SUNS only converting one of their four set shots at goal.
13:34
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Rushed)
15:06
Caleb Serong has averaged 20 pressure acts and 43 pressure points per game this season. Serong has already logged 17 pressure acts and recorded 43 pressure points today.
18:18
Gold Coast has won the clearances 12-3 this quarter and, following the goal on debut from Leo Lombard, has converted this into 14-0 points scored from this source.
20:37
SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Ben King)
20:59
Another goal from a stoppage for the SUNS, who are dominating this phase of the game. Gold Coast averages 38 points per game from stoppages (ranked fourth) and today holds a 33-7 advantage in this measure.
23:44
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Shai Bolton)
24:14
A goal against the run of play from Shai Bolton after Gold Coast had generated five of the last six scores. Bolton has had a game-high seven disposals in the forward 50 but has only been involved in two scores for the Dockers.
25:35
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Rushed)
28:07
Fremantle has generated five inside 50 entries from 15 defensive 50 chains, while Gold Coast is yet to generate an inside 50 entry from 30 such chains and is also yet to score from a turnover, with its entire score coming from stoppages.
28:17
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Patrick Voss)
28:53
SUNS Interchange - Sam Collins off due to the blood rule.
30:19
Fremantle leads the inside 50 count 32-21 but trails 2-6 in forward 50 marks. The Dockers do hold advantages in forward 50 disposals (28-19) and forward 50 tackles (15-7).
32:25
Gold Coast dominated first possession at stoppages in the first half (37-13). Only twice in the past 25 years has a team won this measure by more than 24 in the first half of a game. The SUNS converted this into 34-14 points scored from stoppages, but trail 1-27 in points scored from turnovers.

Quarter 3

00:00
Q3 is now underway.
00:11
Fremantle has had an average of 66 around-the-ground stoppages in its games this season. There were 51 such stoppages in the first half, with Gold Coast winning first possessions (29-10) and clearances (21-14).
01:32
When Jarrod Witts has contested the ruck with Sean Darcy, Gold Coast leads the clearances 12-4 and points scored from stoppages 20-1. When Witts has contested the ruck against Luke Jackson, the SUNS leads the clearances 8-7 but trails 7-12 in points scored from stoppages.
03:46
Fremantle has recorded a tackle efficiency of 63.4 per cent in general play this season (ranked No.1). The Dockers have increased this to 78 per cent today, with this pressure contributing to the SUNS having difficulty with ball movement.
04:24
SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Jed Walter)
04:36
Another goal from a forward half stoppage for the SUNS with Jed Walter kicking his second goal of the game. Gold Coast leads 31-14 in points scored from this source and averages 19 points per game from forward half stoppages.
04:46
Dockers Interchange - Karl Worner off due to an injury.
05:21
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Shai Bolton)
06:23
The SUNS have outscored their opponents by 168 points in the second half of games this season, which is second only to Collingwood. Fremantle is ranked second for points differential in third quarters this season.
06:39
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Touk Miller)
07:51
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Ben Long)
08:07
Noah Anderson is now the No.1 rated player on the ground and leads all players for contested possessions (16), metres gained (494), clearances (8), score involvements (7) and disposals (25).
10:40
The SUNS are ranked last in winning pre-clearance loose balls this season, but today have dominated this metric 23-11 with Touk Miller (6) and Noah Anderson (6) leading the way.
12:25
Gold Coast has had the ball in its forward half for 68 per cent of this quarter and leads inside 50 entries (10-4) and forward half intercepts (4-0) with the wet conditions contributing to Fremantle struggling to move the ball from its defensive half.
14:07
There has not been a goal kicked today from a defensive half chain, making territorial advantage even more important. Gold Coast continues to hold the ascendancy in clearances (34-21).
18:08
The Dockers won the contested possession count by a season-high 22 last week against the Power, but with Gold Coast on top at stoppages today, they trail 83-100 in this measure.
19:45
An excellent goal from stand-in captain Andrew Brayshaw has given the Dockers another goal from a forward 50 chains (their fourth today). Brayshaw has won a team-high four clearances and hit the target with all of his game-high 14 handballs today.
21:46
Murphy Reid featured in the last scoring chain for Fremantle but has been quieter today. Reid has kicked 14 goals and had 17 score assists over his first 11 games. The only teenagers to have recorded more score assists in their first 11 games are Errol Gulden and Cyril Rioli (who both had 19).
22:25
SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Sam Flanders)
23:24
Gold Coast has finally scored its first goal of the game from a turnover, and it was also the first goal of the game for either team to come from a defensive half chain. Fremantle leads 27-8 in points scored from turnovers.
23:39
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Shai Bolton)
24:47
Fremantle has won all four centre bounce clearances this quarter and the last goal from Shai Bolton came from this source. Both teams are ranked in the top-4 for centre bounce clearance differential this season.
27:08
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Rushed)
29:40
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Rushed)
30:22
Fremantle has won the last seven clearances, which has helped the Dockers to five consecutive inside 50 entries.
30:42
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Patrick Voss)
31:33
A career-high three goals for Patrick Voss, who has been prominent in the forward 50 throughout the game. Voss has also applied a game-high six tackles in the forward 50 (no other player has had more than two), and his six disposals have resulted in six scores.
33:06
Fremantle steadied late in the third quarter, winning the last nine clearances and scoring 13 points from stoppages during this period. In a stoppage-heavy game, Gold Coast had the ascendancy in clearances 35-21 before this burst from the Dockers.

Quarter 4

00:00
Q4 is now underway.
01:10
SCORE BEHIND - Dockers (Michael Frederick)
01:38
Fremantle has substituted Nat Fyfe in for his first game of the season, and he has been used immediately at the centre bounce. Fyfe has had two disposals in the first minute of the quarter.
03:10
Sam Switkowski has recorded a game-high nine score involvements for the Dockers today, with 15 of his 16 disposals effective. The small forward has also contributed a game-high 11 effective forward half disposals.
08:15
Fremantle has generated 13 of the last 14 inside 50 entries, with Gold Coast again having difficulty moving the ball from its back half in difficult conditions.
08:31
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Shai Bolton)
09:15
Shai Bolton has had six shots at goal today and leads all players for forward 50 ground balls (4) and forward 50 disposals (9). Sam Switkowski logged score involvement No.10 when he provided the assist on the goal from Bolton and remains the No.1 rated player on the ground.
11:17
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Rushed)
11:49
Fremantle now leads forward half intercepts 24-11 and has converted this into 33-2 points scored from this source. Gold Coast is the No.1 ranked team in points scored from forward half intercepts.
12:43
Since Damien Hardwick took over as coach last season, the SUNS have won only one of the seven games when they have failed to register 50 inside 50 entries. Fremantle has managed to restrict Gold Coast to 40 such entries so far today.
14:23
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Noah Anderson)
16:17
Fremantle has won post-clearance loose ball gets 60-36 and has noticeably been able to outnumber its opposition when the ball has been in general play.
18:28
SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Sam Flanders)
19:26
Gold Coast has lost the inside 50 count just once this season, which was to Brisbane. It has won this measure by 11.3 per game (ranked No.1) but trails 45-57 today.
20:20
Jordan Clark has again made several important contributions for the Dockers, winning a game-high nine intercept possessions and recording 780 metres gained from 29 disposals.
21:09
SCORE GOAL - SUNS (Sam Flanders)
21:36
A pair of close-range goals from Sam Flanders has kept the SUNS in the game, with the second showcasing his goal sense. Flanders had only eight disposals in the first three quarters, but has had a team-high seven in the final quarter.
22:55
SCORE BEHIND - SUNS (Mac Andrew)
24:19
Noah Anderson has recorded a career-high 21 contested possessions today for the SUNS while also posting game-highs for disposals (38) and metres gained (814).
27:37
Fremantle has won only one of its last seven games that have been decided by single digit margins. Gold Coast has won its last three such games.
28:32
SCORE GOAL - Dockers (Jye Amiss)
30:15
A terrific win for the Dockers on the road in difficult conditions. The SUNS are the No.1 team at scoring from forward half intercepts, but Fremantle generated more of these intercepts (28-19) and converted this into 39-3 points scored from this source, which proved crucial.