AFL 2021: Kangaroos in turmoil as Gold Coast sends them to the cleaners with first-half rout
It’s fair to say Kangaroos coach David Noble has inherited the toughest job in the AFL after his players dished up a dismal, spiritless performance on the road.
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Noah Anderson emerged from the shadow of Suns teammate and best friend Matt Rowell to lead the Gold Coast to a 59-point thrashing of a woeful North Melbourne at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night.
Anderson — the No. 2 draft pick behind the injured Rowell in 2019 — had 18 disposals by halftime to set-up the win with the Suns booting nine goals to North Melbourne’s two by the main break.
The silky midfielder finished with 35 touches, 13 contested possessions, seven clearances and three inside 50s as he oozed class all night.
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He had had plenty of assistance. Especially from Jack Lukosius in the pivotal first half when he took a sensational pack mark and converted his set shot, had three scoring assists, three inside 50 entries and 13 touches.
Touk Miller, Lachie Weller, Jack Bowes, Sam Collins, Brandon Ellis and Ben King were also highly influential for the vastly superior Suns.
The victory came at a cost with Gold Coast key forward Sam Day carried from the field with a knee injury at halftime. Young Suns defender Connor Budarick also suffered a knee injury in the fourth term.
The match was all but over just before halftime when the Suns led by 50 points with six unanswered goals in the second quarter before a Bailey Scott major late in the term stopped the rot for the Roos who trailed by 44 points at the main break.
The Gold Coast simply blew the sluggish and largely insipid Roos off Metricon Stadium with their superior ball movement proving too much. In stark contrast, a haphazard North Melbourne butchered far too much ball with their sloppy and wasteful forward entries.
The Suns should have been further in front after wasting a handful of golden scoring opportunities in front of goal as they had their way with for an uncompetitive North Melbourne.
The Kangaroos put up more of a fight in the third term with the Gold Coast looking tired after a six-day break following the hard-fought loss to West Coast last Sunday.
But it was far too little, far too late. When the game was there to be won, North offered nothing. When the Suns looked gassed, they failed to capitalise.
* Genuine speed has always been a priceless asset in football and that’s is especially the case in 2021 after recent rule changes.
New Sun Oleg Markov has given the Gold Coast some serious dash. On more than a number of occasions, Markov was almost a red blur across the Metricon Stadium turf. His first goal in Suns’ colours after a sweeping movement up the field was the highlight.
* Stuart Dew’s positional changes to key young guns is working a treat. Jack Lukosius shifting from halfback to a wing and Noah Anderson moving from the wing to the midfield paid serious dividends against the Roos.
Their class shone like a beacon as they owned the Sherrin and used it beautifully as they were the driving forces in the critical first half.
* When North Melbourne’s Ben Buckley declared in November that he expected new senior coach David Noble to have the Kangaroos contending for a top four berth in three years, the football world raised its collective eyebrow.
The footy world’s whole head would be shaking at that statement now with Buckley’s ambition getting well ahead of his club’s ability. At this rate, the Kangas will be lucky to beat anybody in 2021.
The very astute Noble has the toughest job in the AFL.
* Last week, Collingwood was being mocked in some circles after Jaidyn Stephenson had 30-plus touches in a standout debut for his new club North Melbourne.
Pies supporters would have been dishing out a bit of “we told you so” after Stephenson went missing for large chunks of time when the Suns were dominating.
SCOREBOARD
SUNS: 3.4 9.6 11.10 14.14 (98)
KANGAROOS: 1.2 2.4 5.5 5.9 (39)
GOALS
SUNS: King 3, Rankine 3, Sexton 2, Lukosius, Ainsworth, Markov, Day, Weller, Swallow
KANGAROOS: Goldstein, Scott, Larkey, Powell, Thomas
Greg Davis’ best:
SUNS: Anderson, Miller, Lukosius, Bowes, Weller, Collins
KANGAROOS: Anderson, Goldstein, Bonar, Ziebell, Turner
INJURIES
SUNS: Sam Day (knee), Connor Budarick (knee)
KANGAROOS: Jack Mahony (ankle)
Venue: Metricon Stadium
Crowd: 6661
PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Greg Davis’ votes
3: Noah Anderson
2: Touk Miller
1: Jack Lukosius
Originally published as AFL 2021: Kangaroos in turmoil as Gold Coast sends them to the cleaners with first-half rout
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