Gold Coast have kept their slight finals chances alive, holding off a desperate West Coast at Metricon Stadium by just three points.
It was a day of milestones for the Eagles, with Adam Simpson’s 200th game as coach, Andrew Gaff’s 250th game and Tim Kelly’s 100th, however, the inconsistency throughout the day was symbolic of their year, costing them the four points.
The Suns took some time to get going but, once they did, it wasn’t long before the buffer became troubling for the Eagles.
Mabior Chol limped off in his 50th game with a corked thigh but returned minutes later and was moving reasonably smoothly.
In the second term, Jai Culley collected Noah Anderson late with his right elbow and will come under scrutiny with the MRO.
MRO will be looking at this from @WestCoastEagles mid Jai Culley@abcsport #AFLsunseagles
— Tom Wildie (@tomwildie) July 31, 2022
📹: @FOXFOOTY pic.twitter.com/kglOyIVKNU
Former Cat Liam Pickering spoke to the Culley hit on AFL Nation.
"Oh, looking at that replay Jai Culley might have a bit of a holiday on the back of that," Pickering said.
"That's sloppy, we can mark that down as a little bit of a holiday.
"We're calling it as we see it, it's just his third game."
The 30-point half-time lead was quickly brought back to 13 as a renewed Eagles started to play with the freedom Adam Simpson requested.
However, a bit of Noah Anderson-class kept the lead in order as he stepped around Harry Edwards and slotted a goal, a highlight of a terrific day at the office for the 21-year-old who ended with 29 disposals and six clearances.
The game seemed all but over going into the last term before five goals in a row narrowed the margin to just two points with eight minutes left on the clock.
It was Mabior Chol who stepped up to the plate for the Suns, seizing the moment and slotting his fifth to put the margin to nine points with under four minutes to go, breaking Eagles fans' hearts.
Just as the game looked done, Jake Waterman marked and goaled to draw the margin back to three points with just 38 seconds left on the clock, but it was the Suns who got the clearance, with Malcolm Rosas icing the game from 40 metres on the run.
Touk Miller (31 touches, 10 tackles, 16 clearances) was superb and got good support from David Swallow (22 disposals, seven clearances), while the forward line was potent, namely Mabior Chol and Izak Rankine with five and three goals respectively.
Jack Darling was influential in the absence of Josh Kennedy, kicking six goals and relishing being the sole key target.
Tim Kelly (28 touches, seven clearances), Shannon Hurn (26 disposals) and Tom Barrass (19 disposals, 11 marks) were the best of the rest for the hard-fought Eagles.
Jai Culley was subbed off with a right hamstring injury with Hugh Dixon coming on in his place.
The Suns face Hawthorn at UTAS Stadium next Saturday while the Eagles host Adelaide at home on Sunday evening.
FULL SCORE
Gold Coast: 5.1, 10.5, 13.8, 16.11 (107)
West Coast: 2.4, 5.5, 9.7, 16.8 (104)
GOALS
Gold Coast: Chol 5, Rankine 3, Sharp 2, Rosas 2, Casboult, Ainsworth, Holman, Anderson
West Coast: Darling 6, Petruccelle 3, Ryan 2, Redden 2, Cripps, Jones, Waterman
BEST
Gold Coast: T Miller, M Chol, N Anderson, I Rankine, J Sharp, D Swallow, D Macpherson
West Coast: J Darling, T Barrass, S Hurn, J Redden, T Kelly, J Petruccelle
INJURIES
Gold Coast: n/a
West Coast: Jai Culley (right hamstring)