The GWS Giants eclipsed their greatest winning margin of 64 points against Melbourne in round 21 last season, beating the SUNS 16.23 (119) to 7.11 (53) at StarTrack Oval on Saturday night.
Gold Coast kicked the opening goal in each of the first three quarters but had trouble countering the Giants’ superb brand of running football. GWS kicked four goals in a row in the opening term, and repeated the feat in the second and third quarters.
Dion Prestia and Michael Rischitelli tried hard for Gold Coast and won plenty of possessions; but it mattered little against the confident Giants, who had more players willing to work hard across all parts of the ground.
The SUNS showed a lack of defensive effort for large parts of the match after a promising start, a trend that would have coach Rodney Eade frustrated.
"This was a bit of a setback today, a bit of a shock. I thought the resilience at times could be questioned," Eade said.
"Guys tried, but in the last half of quarters we seemed to fatigue, seemed to lose concentration.
"In the transition run, they’re as good as anyone at that, they’ve got some really elite runners in their team, and are certainly the best side we’ve played so far. It’s only four games in but they’ve got a really bright future."
Eade believes unlike GWS, who have added older players such as defenders Heath Shaw and Joel Patfull in the past two years, his young side lacks leadership; especially with captain Gary Ablett missing.
“We’re working hard on that, we’re trying to develop that as quickly as we can. But getting some players who have played 100-150 games certainly helps the younger players,” Eade said.
The club will finish round four anchored to the bottom of the ladder alongside cross-town rivals the Brisbane Lions.
GREATER WESTERN SYDNEY 4.4 8.8 12.18 16.23 (119)
GOLD COAST 1.2 4.6 5.8 7.11 (53)
GOALS
Greater Western Sydney: McCarthy 5, Cameron 4, Treloar, Smith 2, Stewart, Greene, Shiel
Gold Coast: Dixon 2, Martin, Swallow, Matera, Bennell, Smith
BEST
Greater Western Sydney: Shiel, Coniglio, Treloar, McCarthy, Cameron, Mumford, Griffen
Gold Coast: Prestia, Rischitelli, Swallow, Miller
INJURIES
Greater Western Sydney: Seb Tape replaced in selected side by Tom Nicholls
Gold Coast: Martin (ankle), Lemmens (hip)
SUBSTITUTES
Greater Western Sydney: Josh Kelly replaced Lachie Whitfield at three-quarter time
Gold Coast: Matt Shaw replaced Jack Martin in the third quarter
Reports: Nil
Umpires: Foot, Schmitt, Kamolins
Official crowd: 6,917 at Startrack Oval, Canberra
