Defeat of the Blues is Suns' turning point, says Gary Ablett

GARY Ablett says the Gold Coast's remarkable upset win over Carlton will be remembered as a landmark night for the club.

GARY Ablett says the Gold Coast's remarkable upset win over Carlton will be remembered as a landmark night for the club.

However the Suns skipper has delivered a reality check simultaneously, saying the Gold Coast still had a long way to go before becoming an AFL force.

The Suns' shock 12-point win over the finals contenders at Carrara's Metricon Stadium on Saturday night helped establish a red-letter day for the code in Queensland with both clubs enjoying victories in the same round for the first time.

The Brisbane Lions showed true grit to overcome Port Adelaide by 11 points at AAMI Stadium before the Suns shattered Carlton's finals hopes and potentially killed off Brett Ratten's coaching career at the Blues with a two-goal triumph.

While delighted with the fighting nature of the win, Ablett warned it did not represent Gold Coast's transition from cellar dweller to finals contender just yet.

"I'm so proud of the boys and the way they played. We've obviously got a lot of injuries at the moment," he said.

"It's going to give the guys a huge amount of confidence going into next year, there's no doubt about that.

"There's still a lot to learn. I think next year is still going to be another learning year.

"If we play the game style that we want to play ... we can match it with most sides.

"I'm hoping we can play finals footy. I think people have got to remember it's going to take time."

Ablett said the young Suns were direct, aggressive and took the game on while there was also an even spread of contributors.

Ablett finished with a team-high 23 touches, Harley Bennell had 22 disposals and Brandon Matera and Danny Stanley had 21 touches apiece.

Tom Lynch booted four goals with Josh Caddy and Campbell Brown adding three and two majors respectively. Michael Coad and Charlie Dixon were also outstanding for the home side.

Dumped utility Jared Brennan suffered an ankle injury in Gold Coast's 99-point loss to Redland in the NEAFL semi-final at Victoria Point yesterday.

Relegated to the second-tier state league for a second time in 2012, Brennan rolled his ankle before the three-quarter time break and took no further part in the contest.

But he did enough in the first three terms to take some positive steps on the road to redemption with the Gold Coast coaching staff.

"He did all that was asked of him," Suns football manager Marcus Ashcroft said.

"It was a tough day for all our boys because we had only eight listed players in the side."