The Gold Coast SUNS have been beaten by a rampant Carlton outfit on Sunday afternoon at the MCG.
It was a second quarter of dominance by the Blues, which included nine unanswered goals, that set up the impressive 18.12 (120) to 8.13 (61) win over Gold Coast on Sunday.
The final margin should have been more than what it was, but it arrived after Gold Coast made a fast start to make Carlton anxious early.
Levi Casboult plucked a big contested mark and slotted the opening goal of the game – his 200th career goal – against the club he played 154 games for before starting a new life in Queensland.
SUNS Senior Coach Stuart Dew got a response in the third quarter, but it was not enough to cause Carlton any distress.
Gold Coast kicked three successive goals and could have kicked a couple more if Ben King converted a couple of chances.
But when Charlie Curnow juggled a mark in a contest with Charlie Ballard – which was the most intriguing match-up of the game – to kick his second, both sides had three apiece for the term.
While the narrative has been around Carlton for all of winter and most of autumn, Gold Coast is a story, too.
The SUNS returned from a fantastic fortnight in the Northern Territory 6-6 and looked fresh early after the bye.
They were 7-6 this time last year and have only ever been north of the win-loss ratio at round 14 on one other occasion.
It leaves the club’s Round 15 match against Hawthorn at Heritage Bank Stadium as an opportunity they have to take in order to return to an even win-loss ratio.
CARLTON 1.2 10.5 13.8 18.12 (120)
GOLD COAST 2.6 2.9 5.11 8.13 (61)
GOALS
Carlton: McKay 3, Cripps 3, Curnow 2, Cottrell 2, Cerra 2, Owies 2, De Koning 2, Kennedy, Fogarty
Gold Coast: Casboult 2, Ainsworth 2, Swallow, Lukosius, King, Humphrey
BEST
Carlton: Cerra, Cripps, Kennedy, Weitering, Docherty, Walsh, McKay
Gold Coast: Ainsworth, Anderson, Ballard, Witts
INJURIES
Carlton: Nil
Gold Coast: Joel Jeffrey (ankle)
SUBSTITUTES
Carlton: Paddy Dow (replaced Jack Martin in the fourth quarter)
Gold Coast: Alex Sexton (replaced Thomas Berry at half-time)
Crowd: 29,602 at the MCG
