Gold Coast will be determined to keep its dim finals hopes alive — and rectify a putrid away record — when it battles West Coast at Optus Stadium on Friday night.
The Eagles (3-16, 68.1%) are limping to the finish line, having lost their past nine consecutive matches by an average margin of 43 points.
The Suns (9-10, 101.1%) remain a chance to make finals, but must overcome a streak that has seen them lose their past 16-straight away matches. The last time they won away, though, was against the Eagles at Optus Stadium in Round 9 last year.
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This match gets underway at 8.30pm AEST from Optus Stadium.
Watch it live on Fox Sports (Channel 503) from 8.25pm AEST.
ROLLING MATCH UPDATES
Final teams are in for tonight’s clash in the west, and there are no late changes. Debutant Clay Hall (West Coast) and Malcolm Rosas (Gold Coast) have been named the substitutes.
Mac Andrew, playing forward tonight, kicked the game’s opening goal before West Coast responded via co-skipper Oscar Allen and veteran Jack Darling.
“The Eagles have got their mojo up and running here,” Fox Footy caller Dwayne Russell exclaimed in the first term.
Gold Coast’s Ben King was left bloodied and in the hands of trainers after a heavy first-quarter collision with West Coast defender Harry Edwards. He underwent assessment for a possible head injury but returned in the second quarter.
Oscar Allen was assessed for a hand injury in the first quarter. He soon returned to the field.
Mac Andrew thought he had three goals in the first term but received a rude shock to learn not only was he out of bounds, but he had copped a free kick against for a time delay!
Fox Footy’s Will Schofield labelled the umpire’s decision “bizarre” at quarter-time.
The Suns took a seven-point lead into the first change, but the Eagles haven’t let the visitors have their way.
However, as the second quarter wore on, Gold Coast was able to establish a small buffer, taking a 17-point advantage into the main change.
Mac Andrew had managed one goal in 37 games before slotting three in the first half on Friday night.
The Eagles closed the gap to 11 points early in the third quarter after Jack Williams snapped from close range, before goals to Tyrell Dewar and Jake Waterman put West Coast ahead!
Harley Reid’s fend-offs haven’t been as effective as usual tonight, with both Matt Rowell and Wil Powell claiming the first-year gun in restrictive tackles. Reid has 12 disposals to this late point in the third term.
After a snapping Jake Waterman goal on the siren, the Eagles trailed by just nine points heading into the final term. Do we have a thriller upcoming?
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Source Agencies
