The Suns jumped back into the AFL’s top eight and all but ended Melbourne’s hopes of September footy with a 19-point on the Gold Coast.
The clash was littered with bloody collisions, head knocks and skirmishes, with out-of-form Dees defender and former Suns skipper Steven May looking at potential MRO scrutiny for his contact with Ben Ainsworth that triggered a melee.
The Suns made the most of an abysmal first-quarter showing by the Demons to take the points with a 15.14 (104) to 12.13 (85) victory.
It was Gold Coast’s first win in four matches as Damien Hardwick’s team bounced back from last weekend’s disappointment against GWS to move to sixth on the ladder.
The defeat was the Demons’ fourth in a row and leaves them in 15th place, 16 points outside the eight and all but certain to be out of finals contention.
On the back of his two-year contract extension announcement this week, Suns midfielder Matt Rowell was a standout with 24 disposals, 11 tackles and 12 clearances.
John Noble had 29 disposals for the Suns, while Sam Flanders (28 disposals) and captain Noah Anderson (27 disposals) were also busy.
Ben King led the way for the hosts with three goals, while Jake Melksham booted an equal career-high five majors for the Demons, including his 200th AFL goal, despite battling cramp for most of the second half.
Kysaiah Pickett booted three majors and had 25 touches for the Demons, while Christian Petracca was the leading disposal-getter in the game with 32 touches.
After a bye last weekend, the Demons started like a team still on a break, and the Suns took full advantage.
By the end of a dominant first quarter, the Suns were 36 points clear having recorded 12 scoring shots to just one for the Demons, who had a solitary behind at the first break.
A trio of goals by Melksham in the second quarter reflected a much-improved effort by the Demons, but the Suns were still 24 points up at the main change.
The Demons were also down a man on the interchange bench, with Blake Howes and Harrison Petty both ruled out due to separate concussions, while Clayton Oliver played for most of the match with heavy strapping on his face after a head clash with Touk Miller left both players bloodied.
The third term was ignited when May caught Ainsworth in a marking contest and a melee was sparked on the edge of the 50-metre arc, with Ainsworth making the most of the chaos to play on and sprint clear for a goal. The Suns would go on to kick six goals in the third quarter to hold a game-high 46-point lead heading into the final term.
That healthy margin proved vital as the Demons came out and recorded the first 10 scoring shots of the final term, including four goals, to get the difference under 20 points, with Pickett leading the charge.
A huge effort by Ben Long to gather in a loose ball outside 50 before finding King settled the hosts’ nerves and they held on for their ninth win of the season.
AAP, with staff reporters
