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Gold Coast stun Geelong with statement AFL thrashing

3 minute read

Jack Lukosius has starred with five goals and five goal assists as Gold Coast thumped Geelong by 64 points to maintain their charge for a maiden finals berth.

JACK LUKOSIUS.
JACK LUKOSIUS. Picture: Chris Hyde/Getty Images

A scintillating Gold Coast have thumped an under-strength Geelong by 64 points to put the AFL world on notice and condemn the Cats to their third consecutive defeat.

A breathtaking second quarter, including six unanswered goals, set the Suns on their way before they kicked on for a 26.8 (164) to 15.10 (100) victory at Darwin's TIO Stadium on Thursday.

The sublime Jack Lukosius starred with five majors and five goal assists and he was well-supported by Bailey Humphrey (five goals), Ben King (four) and Sam Day (three), among others.

Gold Coast's highest-ever score lifts them to sixth on the ladder, while second-placed Geelong are in danger of slipping out of the top four.

"I was really happy with the way we went into the game that we wanted to play and started to get it on our terms, which is pleasing, especially against such a side as Geelong," Suns coach Damien Hardwick said.

"They're a side that we really admire - well coached, well drilled. We got to play against a really good side and managed to win quite comfortably in the end, which is great.

"The good thing is our players have made it a real home venue for us. It's another good two wins that we've had up here and I think it makes it six on the trot. So it's a real fortress."

Geelong were without Jeremy Cameron (concussion), Patrick Dangerfield (hamstring) and rested trio Tom Hawkins, Mitch Duncan and Rhys Stanley.

Sam De Koning (hamstring tightness) was a late withdrawal and was replaced by veteran Zach Tuohy.

Gold Coast smashed Geelong out of the middle as they chase a first-ever finals berth.

Noah Anderson (41 disposals and two goals), Matt Rowell (35 disposals), Touk Miller (32 and eight clearances) and Sam Flanders (37 touches) were dominant around the ball.

Geelong's Tyson Stengle (three goals), Max Holmes (32 disposals), Ollie Dempsey (25 touches) and Gryan Myers (29 touches, two goals) fought hard on a dirty night.

The Cats led by three points at quarter-time but the Suns broke away in the second term to nudge out to a 33-point lead at the main change.

Suns defender Mac Andrew suffered a lower leg injury in a collision with teammate Ben Ainsworth in the second quarter.

He was substituted out of the game for Alex Davies at halftime.

The Suns didn't stop, booting eight goals in the third term to stretch their lead to an ominous 66 points at three-quarter time, before an almost-even final term.

The Suns next host Carlton while the Cats will need to reset quickly ahead of a bumper clash with GWS.

"Probably for a good three weeks now, but probably even the last 15 minutes of the game before, we've just been a little bit off and tonight was kind of the culmination of that," coach Chris Scott said.

"We got beaten by some good players around the ball. It was a very unusual scoreline - to give up that many scores is unusual for us and all the stats as you work down the list didn't get any better.

"They scored a lot, they had a lot of entries, they had a lot of possession, we didn't get our hands on the ball and when we did, we didn't handle the conditions well enough.

"But they were pretty hot as well."

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