Matt Rowell has powered Gold Coast to a nerve-rattling six-point defeat of Collingwood that pushed the Suns closer to a maiden AFL finals berth.
The Suns led by as many as 39 points on Friday and denied the Magpies, who kicked 10 straight behinds to begin the game, a major until midway through the third term.
But the ladder-leaders inevitably surged, leading by three points before the hosts through Rowell and skipper Noah Anderson’s decisive late goal in a 10.9 (69) to 8.15 (63) win.
Rowell (32 touches, two goals, 13 tackles, 12 clearances) was monumental in a ding-dong battle with Josh Daicos (32 touches, two goals) in front of 22,831 in the club’s first Friday night prime time fixture.
The hosts did lose Touk Miller (hamstring) in the second term ahead of a tough two-game stretch against Adelaide and Brisbane.
But at 11-5, and fifth on the live ladder, they now likely need just three wins from their last seven fixtures to play finals for the first time in their 15-year history.
“We played an outstanding first half, then Collingwood flipped the switch and all of a sudden we looked like witches hats,” a relieved Suns coach Damien Hardwick said.
“We talk about a Suns team that fights and scraps and refuses to be beaten and I reckon they showed that again today.”
AAP
