Gold Coast Suns hand Richmond fifth straight defeat to leave Tigers dynasty dead and buried
The Gold Coast Suns have handed Richmond their fifth loss in a row to leave the fallen AFL contenders at the bottom of the ladder.
AFL
Don't miss out on the headlines from AFL. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A contentious deliberate rushed behind decision couldn’t take the polish off an impressive Gold Coast win which keeps the Suns within an arm’s length of the top eight.
The Suns blew the Tigers away with a six-goal to two third term and never looked back, with the win coming on the back of stellar games from Ben King, Noah Anderson, and Will Powell.
The disappointing loss leaves Richmond with a mountain to climb to regain touch with the best teams as they were left to rue abysmal goal kicking.
Watch every match of every round of the 2023 Toyota AFL Premiership Season LIVE on Kayo Sports. New to Kayo? Start your free trial now >
A moment in the third term looked for much of the second half like it could come back to haunt the Tigers, but the impressive Suns answered every Richmond challenge.
Richmond could rightly have felt hard done by when what seemed to be a clear deliberate rushed behind was overlooked by umpires.
With no one within 20m of the goals, Dustin Martin ran just inside 50 and went for a dribble kick along the ground, snaking it towards goal.
It became a race between the ball and Suns’ defender Will Powell.
With no Richmond player within 20m of Powell, who tracked the kick back to halfway up the goal square, the rebounding defender punched it over the goal line with no intent to take possession.
Martin threw his arms in the air to protest what seemingly was the easiest of deliberately rushed decisions, but his appeals fell on deaf ears.
King of Marvel
Ben King was the difference for the Suns, dragging his team with a masterful key forward display against a quality Richmond defence.
King’s height proved too much for the Tiger defence and his speed caught out Noah Balta and Tylar Young on more than one occasion.
But it was his clean hands and deadly set shot kicking that set him apart in a game in which Richmond couldn’t buy an accurate shot for large stretches.
The 22-year-old finished with four goals and five marks.
Ryan’s Ripper
In a game that was bereft of any polish and magic in the opening quarter, it took 22-year-old big man Samson Ryan just a couple of minutes to provide it in the second term.
The 2.05m youngster halved a ruck contest in the Tigers’ forward pocket and the ball spilled towards the boundary line.
Cast in the roll of rover, Ryan set off after the ball, gathered it and off one step fashioned a drop punt off the outside of his right boot.
The ball bent from left to right and slide through the big sticks to give the Richmond fans something much needed to savour.
Ellis Haunts Tigers
Dual premiership Tiger Brandon Ellis put on a vintage performance that was reminiscent of his days patrolling the wings in yellow and black.
The now Gold Coast Sun was instrumental in giving Gold Coast its halftime lead, providing gut-busting overlap run to propel his side forward.
The 29-year-old’s ball use was impeccable, going at 94 per cent, making the most of his 16 touches with 304m gained.
He was able to hurt the Tigers on the scoreboard, too, kicking an important goal in the second quarter.
Ellis finished with 25 touches, a goal, and 395m gained.
Bolton’s Banger
With the game getting away from Richmond following a couple of quick Gold Coast goals that had the Suns out in front by 17-points, the Tigers needed a spark.
And as he so often does, it was the enigmatic Shai Bolton who provided the team-lifting moment.
Receiving a handball out of the stoppage and running towards the boundary on the wrong side for the right booted Bolton, the excitement machine hit his drop punt to perfection.
The 24-year-old took off immediately to celebrate with the raucous Tiger faithful as the ball sailed through to provide Richmond with a much-needed momentum stopper.
Originally published as Gold Coast Suns hand Richmond fifth straight defeat to leave Tigers dynasty dead and buried
SuperCoach alert: Defensive cheapie unlikely for round 0
One of the year’s top SuperCoach bargains is unlikely to be fit for the start of the season after another pre-season setback. CALLUM DICK has details.
Best 23 locked in? Crows unleash four-headed monster
If what we saw from Adelaide’s forward line on Friday is a sign of things to come, opposition defenders are officially on notice. Get all the intel as the Crows reveal more about their best side.