Eleven years and five days ago the Gold Coast SUNS beat Collingwood at People First Stadium in arguably the most famous game in club history. And they gave birth to two questions that have prompted untold debate ever since.

It was July 5, 2014 – Round 16 of the club’s fourth season in front of a crowd of 24,032 which today is still the record for the club’s highest attendance at the venue.

Football on the Gold Coast was at an unprecedented fever pitch as the SUNS, 8^th on the AFL ladder, hosted the 6^th-placed Magpies. They were on track for its best season yet and captain Gary Ablett Jnr, in extraordinary form, was on a trajectory for back-to-back Brownlow Medals.

Then, seven minutes after halftime, with the home side four points in front, an eerie silence came over the ground. Even Collingwood supporters were in shock as Ablett was lay motionless on the centre wing turf in front of the interchange benches.

He was thrown to the turf, dislocating his shoulder in what today would be labelled a sling tackle by Collingwood’s Brent Macaffer.

Somehow, the SUNS managed to hang on for a gutsy five-point win. They were six points up at the last change, and after could-have-been SUN Josh Thomas goaled for the Pies to level the scores 45 seconds into the final term, the home side hung on 11.14 (80) to 10.15 (75).

David Swallow (31 possessions, three Brownlow votes) and Sam Day (four goals, two votes) led the way as Harley Bennell (one goal), Jarrod Harbrow, Danny Stanley, Jaeger O’Meara, Greg Broughton, Tom Lynch (two goals) and Michael Rischitelli all had 20-plus possessions.

It was the second time in a row the SUNS had beaten the Pies at home, with Ablett having had 49 possessions and kicked the sealing last goal in a seven-point win 12 months earlier, and immediately after the final siren it was pandemonium.

But beneath the hysteria there were suddenly two big questions on the lips of SUNS fans? Could they still make the finals? And could Ablett still win the Brownlow?

History would answer ‘no’ to both questions, which post-season had SUNS fans wondering what might have happened if Ablett hadn’t been hurt. Would they have made the finals with the ‘little master’ in the side? And would the captain have won the medal?

It was massive. The SUNS were out to achieve in their fourth year what had taken ‘big brothers’ Brisbane nine years – an AFL finals berth. And Ablett was out to become the fifth three-time Brownlow winner after Fitzroy’s Haydn Bunton (1931-32-35), Essendon’s Dick Reynolds (1934-37-38), South Melbourne’s Bob Skilton (19559-63-68) and one-time Gold Coast resident Ian Stewart, who won the game’s highest individual honor at St Kilda in 1965-66 and Richmond in 1971.

After the gutsy win over the Pies the SUNS were equal 6th with a 9-5 record, and had posted three wins over eventual finalists while averaging 92.3 points for and 91 points against. They had four games against bottom six sides still to play. It was definitely on.

Ablett had averaged 33.0 possessions, kicked 24 goals pre-injury and had 22 Brownlow votes – eight more at the time than eventual winner Matt Priddis.

But without Ablett, who finished third in the medal despite missing the last seven games, the SUNS went 1-6 in the run home, beating only wooden-spooners St Kilda at home.

While all that is confined to the history books, one aspect of what was an unbelievable day in SUNS history is still very much alive – the SUNS v Magpies rivalry is as strong as ever.

And this week’s blockbuster between the 8^th-placed SUNS and the ladder-leading Magpies, the first Friday night game at People First Stadium to be shown live around the country, is poised to displace the 2014 meeting as the most famous game in club history.

The Visitors

Collingwood will travel north on an eight-game winning streak and sitting two and a half games clear at the top of the ladder with a 14-2 record. After an inexplicable 52-point loss to GWS at Engie Stadium in Opening Round, their only loss has been to Geelong at the MCG by three points in Round 8, when the Pies’ Jack Crisp missed a shot after the final siren to win it.

Nick Daicos, averaging 29.9 possessions a game, has been their #1 ball-winner from brother Josh (27.9ppg), Scott Pendlebury (23.6ppg), Steele Sidebottom (23.2ppg) and Jack Crisp (20.3ppg).

Jamie Elliott heads the Collingwood goal-kicking with 41 in 16 games, while Brody Mihocek (28) and Tim Membrey (22), Bobby Hill (19) and Dan McStay (16) are averaging better than a goal per game.

Coaches Votes

Noah Anderson and Nick Daicos share top spot on the leaderboard in the AFL Coaches Association Player of the Year Award after 17 rounds. Each has 69 votes to lead Geelong’s Bailey Smith (66), Adelaide’s Jordan Dawson (62), Port’s Zak Butters (61) and the Western Bulldogs’ Ed Richards.

Steele Sidebottom (45), Josh Daicos (43), Jamie Elliott (39), Darcy Cameron (28) and Ned Long (20) also have hit 20 votes for Collingwood, while Touk Miller (50), Matt Rowell (48), Jarrod Witts (23) and Bailey Humphrey (20) have done likewise for Gold Coast.

SUNS v Magpies – Historically Speaking

The SUNS’ head-to-head record between the clubs is 4-11, although they’ll will take confidence from an 11-point win at home in Round 16 last year, when late goals from Ben Long and Ben Ainsworth got them over the line after they trailed by a point going into time-on. It was the first time the SUNS have kicked 100 points against the Pies in a head-to-record that is 3-6 on the Gold Coast, 0-1 at the Gabba during 2020, 1-3 at the MCG and 0-1 at Marvel Stadium.

Club Records

The SUNS’ single-game possession record against the Pies is also the all-clubs record. It’s the whopping 53 possessions Gary Ablett amassed in the second meeting between the clubs at the MCG in 2012.  He also had the SUNS’ three 40-possession games against the Pies, while Miller has six 30-possession games in 10 games against them, and Noah Anderson has topped 30 in his last four against them.

Six players share the SUNS goal-kicking record against the Pies at four Sam Day, Charlie Dixon, Josh Corbett, Levi Casboult, Izak Rankine and Ben King.

Collingwood’s best against the Gold Coast has been Adam Treloar’s 38 possessions at Marvel in 2016, and Jamie Elliott’s five goals at People First Stadium in 2015.

Brownlow Medal Votes

Aggregate votes between the clubs in 15 games is 31-59 – but it’s 15-15 in the last five games. Ablett and Miller head the SUNS count with eight apiece, while for the Pies, Pendlebury, in 15 games against the SUNS, has polled five times for 12 votes.

Played for Both Clubs

Six players have played for Gold Coast and Collingwood – including two and possibly three who will play this week. John Noble and Witts will wear the SUNS’ red and yellow against their former black and white, while Oleg Markov, who played 28 games for the SUNS in 2021-22 and was a 2023 Collingwood premiership player, is a chance to play. Markov also played under Damien Hardwick at Richmond.

Ironically, Noble polled his first two Brownlow Medal votes playing for Collingwood against Gold Coast – one in his 19^th game at the Gabba in the 2020 Covid season, and one in his 84^th game in 2023.

Ex-Pies Josh Fraser and Danny Stanley were members of the first SUNS team in 2011, and were joined in their fourth game and their first win by ex-Pie Sam Iles.