AFL 2024 round five LIVE updates: Suns thump hapless Hawks and late goal sees Power past Freo; Blues rue late loss to Crows

Suns coach Damien Hardwick spoke to the media post game.

On the match:

I thought our defensive stuff was pretty good. We had pressure 1.94 which is a number that doesn’t mean a lot, but I felt we were in their grill all night, which is really important. It’s the way we wanted to play the game. Kept that ball pinned in the front half. We have still got some work to do in a number of areas but we are really pleased with the overall system and how it’s stacking up. More importantly how the players are adhering to it and starting to get a great understanding of why and how. That was pleasing. 30-odd shots at goal too was great. There was a lot to like. There is still some frustrations. As a coach we are always looking for perfection, not going to get it, but we will always try and chase it. There are certainly areas we can improve.

On second gamers like Will Graham playing big roles:

It is exciting. It creates a contest. That’s the sort of player that you love to have in your footy club. To see the amount of times he looked out of the contest and put his head down and tackled and chased, that’s the kind of player we are trying to build our club on the back of. We are pretty fortunate we have had that DNA for some time. What we are trying to bring is the implementation of the system as well. I was really pleased with his game. He was outstanding last week and even better this week. He is probably one of those guys that will sneak under the radar but every chance of being a really, really long-term player for us.

At the risk of not going through every player like Clohesy and him, what did you think of Clohesy?

He is terrific again. His ability to find space, use the ball and to finish. He is a beautiful long kick as well. I think I said the same thing last week, he comes in at 21 years of age, had really good coaching at Werribee. Readily admits he wasn’t quite ready to play AFL, but he has learnt his craft. Ultra impressive over preseason. We are really fortunate our scouts saw something that they really, really like. Cal Burns and his team did a wonderful job of identifying that talent that will had us. He’s been wonderful his first two weeks.

First probably true four-quarter performance?

I think so. We have had various other games where we played pretty well but dropped a quarter and dropped it quite badly. The situation tonight, I think in the third, where they got those couple of goals and they were goals we probably could have controlled. For the guys to stand up, get the momentum or arrest momentum and start the momentum going back our way was really important. We are going to go through those at various stages. It’s important guys understand to get the game going back our way. Credit where credit is due, for us we played really well. We are playing against a side that is up against it with injury, if that makes sense, but they fought hard. One thing I think Sam has got them doing is they are playing a smart, tough brand of footy to coach against. We had our work cut out for us, although the scoreboard will say it looked easier than it was. It was tough at various stages throughout the night.

More highlight reels from Mac Andrew tonight.

Yeah. He does really, really good things. He is a magical player. If he continues to work hard, understand how important he is to our side and understand what level he can get to I think he will be a very, very special player, not only for us, but within the league. He can get distracted by the off-ball stuff. That’s an area of growth for him. What is he, 21 years of age. He will only get better once he gets a good understanding of what makes him a great player. And works on those and just worries about that. He had another really good game tonight.

Local club Palm Beach-Currumbin shape as a major feeder side for the Suns both now and in the coming years with Jed Walter, Ethan Read and Will Graham all coming from the club, via Gold Coast’s academy, and making their debuts this season.

A large group from the club were in the stands together and all wearing their club polo shirts tonight.

Post game, the three lads were mobbed by their mates and took the group photo shown in this tweet.

Channel Seven showed them on the screen plenty of times during the match.

Port Adelaide has kicked two late goals to beat Fremantle who led for 73 minutes of the match.

Jason Horne-Francis was the hero taking a mark with three minutes to go and kicking the go-ahead goal.

Huge win for the Power who still believe they are capable of pushing for the flag and the loss could hurt Freo as they continue to battle for a spot at the lower end of the eight.

GOLD COAST SUNS 16.13 (109) d HAWTHORN 8.8 (56)

KEY POINTS

Suns dominate the footy
Damien Hardwick’s Suns (now 3-2) are still a work in progress when it comes to learning the game style he wants to implement but they showed promise with the way they dominated possession and field position in this win. The possession count ended 367-269 and the Gold Coast’s advantage was there for much of the night and it led to plenty of scoring chances for Ben King (four goals), Jed Walter and Ethan Read (both two goal) while Matt Rowell, Noah Anderson, Sam Flanders and Touk Miller had a field day around the footy. The Hawks should be very disappointed they couldn’t find a way to navigate the Suns’ defence, impressively led by Sam Collins and Charlie Ballard, or at least win more of the football. Will Graham’s 14 tackles also stood out as a sign of his side’s pressure.

Hawks disappoint
After some promising performances last season, there was hope the Hawks could cause some more upsets this season and, maybe, even knock over some top-eight sides. But their showing on this night was very disheartening given the Suns are hardly a top team yet. The Hawks are now 0-5 for the first time since the 1970s. One has to wonder where their midfield is at present as the likes of James Worpel (14 possessions) and Jai Newcombe (10 possessions) were barely sighted while Cam Mackenzie was subbed off at half-time with just a couple of touches. Finn Maginness showed he could be an option up forward with three goals but Hawthorn’s horrendous start to matches remains in the spotlight as they again were well behind the eight-ball down 17 points at the first change after kicking just one goal. Late in the third term, Thomas Berry took a full dive into a Hawks defender and knocked the footy to Read who kicked the goal. That summed up Hawthorn’s night as the Suns were more urgent, more desperate and showed much more class with their finishing.

Swallow fires late
David Swallow has done the hard yards on the Gold Coast after being the first pick in the 2010 AFL Draft. The veteran Sun and only man to play 200 games for the club, so far, started as the sub and came on for Malcolm Rosas after he hurt his hamstring late in the third quarter. Against a tired Hawks defence, Swallow nailed three late goals which his teammates and home fans loved. The man who has played on a record 22 grounds in the AFL showed his intimate knowledge of this venue and the desire of a veteran who knows there are some goals in the offing.

KEY STATS

The Suns have romped home against a disappointing Hawthorn on the Gold Coast tonight to claim their third win from five games.

The Suns are rolling to victory and even a little niggle between the two sides has seemed pretty half-hearted.

The Hawks have kicked a couple of late goals from Mabior Chol and Connor Macdonald.

Suns 101, Hawks 55 with four mins to go.

Suns veteran David Swallow came on as the sub and has booted two goals in this final term.

He is a very popular figure at the club and both fans and players loved that one.

The error count is starting to soar for the Hawks as well.

Suns 94, Hawks 42 with 14 mins to go.

Jed Walter has won the ball again and nailed his set shot.

He pulled in another strong mark too.

The Hawks found a goal right from the centre bounce with Blake Hardwick finding room and booting a goal from close range. He looks a little bit sore but is playing through it.

Suns 82, Hawks 42 with 18 mins remaining.

It is a low scoring clash in Adelaide but the Dockers remain in front and they continue to win the clearances and contested possessions which should bode well for this final term.