In what was an entertaining and topsy turvy contest in Melbourne, the GCFC put up a brave fight but were overrun in the final term as they went down 18.11 (119) to 15.13 (103).

Forward Matt Fowler was impressive with four goals, while stand-in skipper Charlie Dixon marked everything and booted three majors – all of which were kicked in a prominent second term. In the best for the Coast were Troy Jamieson, Cheyne Hutchinson, Alik Magin, Luke Shreeve, Damien Steven, Josh Thomas and Daniel Ramage.

The Coasters were jumped by the Cannons who put six goals on the board before the visitors had time to blink in the opening stanza. They also lost forward Aaron Fabian for the day and possibly a couple of weeks after he hurt his shoulder and had to come off the ground.

Two late goals in the first quarter, through Fowler and Shreeve, saw the Coast gain some confidence. They worked their way back into the game in the second term with Magin and Dixon starring up forward for the Coast. With their help, the Coast went into half-time down by 14 points.

The Coast came out hungry after the main break and it began to show on the scoreboard. The boys were winning the ball out of the middle and at the clearances. Shreeve went off bleeding profusely in the third quarter after being crunched going head first into the pack. But the 17-year-old, who is the youngest member of the team, displayed his toughness to shake it off and later return to the game.

With Fowler and Thomas coming in to the game, the Coast put seven goals on for the quarter and led by 13 points at the last changeBut reeling in that six-goal start was going to take a lot out of the tank and it showed in the final term. The Cannons were able to kick away from the Coast boys, who were on the road for the third week in a row.

The GCFC are back home at Carrara next Saturday against the Gippsland Power in the curtain raiser to the Carlton-Fremantle AFL clash.

By Nick Smart in Melbourne. For a full report of the game and lots more check out Monday’s edition of The Gold Coast Bulletin.