Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew has revealed the half-time message he relayed to his players that sparked their second-half fightback against Richmond.
Trailing by as much as 40 points in the third quarter, the Suns staged a stunning comeback to pip the Tigers by two points thanks to an after-the-siren goal from Noah Anderson.
Anderson’s clutch goal triggered jubilant scenes at Metricon Stadium as the Suns breathed new life back into their season.
Dew, who signed a two-year contract extension last week, remained calm when addressing his players at the main break.
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“I said, ‘Look, I can yell and scream to try and get a response, but at the end of the day, if you don’t have a go, this team’s going to make us pay every time’,” he told SEN Breakfast.
“You need a lot of luck to win those games, but to get the luck, you’ve got to actually be trying your guts out.
“Importantly, our guys responded, gritted their teeth and I think it shows the maturity and character of our players.
“In the end … my experience tells me if you can have the impact with one message, that’s often better than trying to plug a leaking boat.
“I put our tackle percentage up as well – we had six tackles in the second quarter – which is far away from what we do.
“We haven’t done this all year, so let’s put that hour behind us and get going.”
Dew described Anderson’s after-the-siren heroics as a “sliding doors” moment.
“You don’t get to play in those games very often,” he said.
“I think I was lucky enough to have two (as a player) and you remember them for a very long, long time.”
The Suns (8-8) travel to Melbourne to take on Essendon (5-11) at Marvel Stadium on Sunday.