It was another fiery QClash affair at Metricon Stadium on Saturday night, but it was the Brisbane Lions who were able to hold on for a slim win this time around.

David Swallow was in the trenches all night, leading the team for clearances and contested possessions.

The SUNS midfielder told SUNS TV post-match he was proud of the way Gold Coast were able to fight it out until the end.

“It was certainly disappointing that we got so close and just couldn’t quite get over the line,” he said.

“But (I) couldn’t fault the boys’ effort tonight.

“I thought we were challenged early and then we fought our way back into the game and we showed that we could really match it.”

The match threatened to boil over at numerous stages on the night, but it was the SUNS’ resilience which kept them in the match until the final siren.

“There was a little bit of added spice during the week but to the boys’ credit I reckon we put our heads over the footy and that’s what we really pride ourselves on,” Swallow said.

“All the other stuff’s just noise so really proud of the boys’ effort and we’ve just got to finish this year off strong.”

Just shy of 12,000 people turned out for the QClash, and Swallow says the show of support this year from Gold Coast fans has been a positive.

“The crowd was really good, they were really supportive of us and we really felt that out there tonight so we can’t thank them enough,” Swallow said.

“It’s obviously been a tough year for them this as well so for them to stick by us, the boys really appreciate it and we can’t thank them enough for coming out again.”

The SUNS play their final match of 2018 in Geelong against the Cats, with a win potentially knocking Geelong out of finals for the year.

“We’ve been talking probably the last few weeks about finishing the year off really strongly,” Swallow said.

“It obviously hasn’t been the year we wanted but we can take a lot of momentum going into next year and over the pre-season.

“It’s a real key focus to try and finish the year off really strongly and play some footy that we know we can.”