Source : the age
By Murray Wenzel
West Coast’s fresh-look dress held on as a fiery Gold Coast dropped off a record-setting speed in a 59-point AFL victory.
The Eagles, who only won again next year, headed south with four fresh-faced internationals to take on the red-hot Suns in a matchup on Sunday at Carrara.
And it went horribly wrong in the first quarter, with the hosts adding goals at will to take a 62-point lead at the main split, and seem set to change club scoring records.
However, the Eagles, who were sparked by fiery first-gamer Milan Murdock, lost 20.11 ( 131 ) to 10.12 ( 72 ), which will have provided coach Andrew McQualter with plenty of encouragement.
The Suns threatened to force the margin into quad images before taking their feet off the gas, just like they did last year against Geelong.
Christian Petracca ( 23 disposals, four goals ) and Ben King ( three first-quarter goals ) completed his dominant start at the Suns with five majors.
Joel Jeffrey ( 28 disposals ) and Noah Anderson ( 34 disposals ) both had goals in the Suns ‘ 34th game.
In an amazing 84-point second half, Alex Davies, Daniel Rioli, Jy Farrar, Jake Rogers, and Ben Long all scored goals.
Murdock ( 22 disposals ), who was only signed from the WAFL two weeks ago, kicked two goals and was the first to stir Mac Andrew’s crows in a daring debut.
Elliot Yeo ( 17 disposals ) kicked a quickfire double in the third term of his injury comeback while Jake Waterman ( three goals, three behinds ) had the better of Andrew.
Those majors, in contrast to the Suns ‘ 3.2, fuelled a 5.4 third for the customers, which fought off the menace of Sun data falling.
Deven Robertson, a former Lion, had eight tackles nicely before halftime, while Harley Reid had 23 disposals, including 12 interceptions and five certifications.
AAP
