Hidden among the disappointment of the Sunday’s MCG loss to Melbourne was a significant moment in Gold Coast SUNS history...It was the first time the club had fielded a side which boasted 10 Queenslanders.

The inclusion of second-gamer Lachie Gulbin and Jed Walter counter-balanced the omission of Alex Davies, and added one to the previous equal best of nine Queenslanders in Rounds 1-2.

These sides, which posted back-to-back 50-point wins, had matched two previous occasions on which the SUNS had fielded nine homegrown players – against the Bulldogs in Ballarat in 2018 (lost by nine points) and Essendon at Marvel in 2024 (won by one point).

Among the 10 on Sunday was a very good Lachie Gulbin, who had 22 possessions, kicked his first goal, and was team-high with eight score involvements and five inside 50’s. And he played only 69% game time.

The 10 Queenslanders on Sunday accounted for 44% of the team possessions, headed by Gulbin’s 22 and Bodhi Uwland’s 24. Leo Lombard had a career-high 18, Sam Closehy 17, Zeke Uwland 16, Will Graham 15, Lachie Weller 14, Jed Walter 10, Ethan Read 9 and Jake Rogers 8.

And they kicked 64% of the goals – 9 of 14. It was Read (3), Zeke Uwland (2), Walter (2), Graham (1) and Gulbin (1).

Walter had a team-high and career-best four contested marks, Read six score involvements, and Rogers a team-high five tackles. And the Uwland brothers had 11 intercept possessions between them – Bodhi (6) and Zeke (5) – fewer only than Sam Collins (6).

In his fourth game Zeke Uwland kicked his first and second AFL goals.

But Gulbin was the standout in just his second AFL game and his first at the MCG.

His only previous AFL game was against Port Adelaide at Adelaide Oval in Round 24 last year in which the Power won by four points in the last outing for coach Ken Hinkley and games record-holder Travis Boak. He had nine possessions in 71% game time.

But the 19-year-old Burleigh Bombers junior and StreetSmarts SUNS Academy graduate, a Category B rookie in 2024,  looked a different player second time out, showing the benefits of a massive off-season.

He certainly proved to coach Damien Hardwick that he’s not out of place at AFL level, and will potentially be a valuable role player moving forward.