Suns beat Blues, still in AFLW finals race

Shayne Hope | October 21, 2022

Gold Coast have overcome a goalless first half to keep themselves in the AFLW finals hunt with a hard-fought 27-point win over Carlton.

The Suns struggled in an early arm wrestle but seized control after the main break to run away with a 6.6 (42) to 2.3 (15) victory at Metricon Stadium on Friday night.

Charlie Rowbottom (26 disposals), Alison Drennan (24), Kalinda Howarth (18, one goal) and Courtney Jones (two goals) were all influential for the home side, with Ellie Hampson (18 disposals) and Claudia Whitfort (21) also prominent.

The result put Gold Coast level on points with North Melbourne (seventh) and the Western Bulldogs (eighth), who both have a game in hand.

To play finals, the Suns will have to beat GWS in round 10 and hope other results fall their way.

They will be confident of holding up their end of the bargain after recovering from a slow start to overpower Carlton in a must-win clash.

“I’m super proud of the players,” Gold Coast coach Cam Joyce said.

“It was always going to be interesting how we tackled it and we were very process-driven with it, but at the same time everyone knew what was on the line to stay alive.

“I’m super proud of how everyone went about it and stuck at it … and played some really good footy after halftime.”

A solitary goal from Blues forward Poppy Schaap separated the sides at the main break but the second half belonged to Gold Coast.

Howarth kicked the first goal of the third quarter within 25 seconds of the re-start, kick-starting a run of five consecutive majors.

Jones put the Suns in front against her old side, gathering eight disposals and four inside-50s in the third term as a key driver in the Suns’ match-winning surge.

Lucy McEvoy (24 disposals), Mimi Hill (23) and captain Kerryn Peterson (18) all fought hard in a losing cause for Carlton, who are out of finals contention.

“Their mids killed us at contested ball and clearance, and in the end that makes a massive difference,” Blues coach Daniel Harford said.

“They win the territory battle on the back of that and they got some real run into their game.

“They were terrific in the second half and we were found wanting to a degree.”

Gold Coast travel to take on GWS in the last round of the home-and-away campaign, while Carlton could do them a favour by knocking off the Bulldogs at Ikon Park.