The Gold Coast SUNS have gone down in the final QW Winter Series match against the Lions in a competitive affair at the Gabba on Saturday afternoon.
A late surge by the SUNS had Brisbane on its heels in the last quarter but it was the Lions’ poise and class which helped them hold on for the 7.8 (50) to 5.3 (33) win.
There were some individual flashes of brilliance in the match by the SUNS, with Molly Riston’s goal from the pocket at the top of that list.
Riston ran on to the ball at pace deep in the pocket and fashioned a banana kick to bend it through the Gabba goalposts at an acute angle.
Defender Jade Pregelj also impressed throughout the match, with a courageous mark running at full speed into an opponent in the third quarter her best feat on the day.
Tiarna Ernst was trialled in the forward line and showed plenty of promise, busting her gut to present for teammates and managing to stick a few marks.
Senior AFLW Coach David Lake told SUNS Media he was extremely pleased with the way the girls attacked the game
“For us it was never about the result on the scoreboard,” Lake said
“We had 80 minutes of football to play and for the better part of 70 to 80 minutes we played really well.
“We were able to score and I felt like we had some speed in our forward line and we were threatening coming through.
“Today I felt like it was a really complete performance.”
Untried QW Winter Series squad member Brittany Perry was able to get the SUNS on the board early in the piece and finished with two goals for the day.
Diminutive midfielder Kate Surman was prominent in the midfield and was one of the club’s best on the day.
For the Lions, it was the experience of Ally Anderson which triggered some clean ball movement through the middle of the ground, while Jade Ellenger also looked sharp in the midfield.
While the official QW Winter Series is all wrapped up, selected players from the SUNS and the Lions will combine to form a Queensland representative team to play Western Australia next weekend at Optus Stadium.
The team will be confirmed next week.
FINAL SCORE
Lions 2.2 3.5 5.7 7.8 (50)
SUNS 1.1 2.1 3.2 5.3 (33)
SUNS GOALS: Perry 2, Ritson, Parker, Yorston
SUNS BEST: Surman, Pregelj, Virgo, Ernst, Parker
