Record-breaking Suns burn Roos in 14-goalkicker clinic | AFL

Gold Coast has made history with their first ever 4-0 start to an AFL season, brushing aside North Melbourne with a powerful second-half surge to claim a 21.15 (141) to 13.11 (89) victory at Barossa Park.

On a blustery afternoon in the Barossa Valley, the Suns were tested by an energetic North Melbourne outfit for two-and-a-half quarters before flexing their muscle late, kicking 11 of the last 13 goals to blow the contest wide open.

Ben King starred up forward with five goals from six disposals to move to the top of the Coleman Medal leaderboard, while Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson led a dominant midfield showing that flipped the momentum when the game was on the line.

The Kangaroos had turned an early 25-point deficit into an eight-point third-quarter lead, thanks to strong midfield pressure from Luke Davies-Uniacke and Jy Simpkin. But from that moment on, it was all Gold Coast, who were $1.25 favourites with the top AFL bookmakers.

Rowell went into “beast mode”, collecting 15 second-half disposals (10 in the third term), five clearances and slotting a goal on the siren to cap a devastating stretch. Anderson had 13 touches in the third quarter alone and Touk Miller finished with 27 and a goal of his own.

The Suns piled on nine of the next 10 goals after falling behind, with Joel Jeffrey’s long-range bomb sparking the run and John Noble continuing his excellent start to the season with 28 touches, a goal, and over 700 metres gained.

Gold Coast’s 14 individual goalkickers highlighted the spread of contributors in their best performance yet under Damien Hardwick.

Meanwhile, North Melbourne’s hot-and-cold form returned, with defensive lapses and lack of polish cruelly exposed. While Charlie Comben and Davies-Uniacke fought hard, the Roos couldn’t sustain the effort for four quarters and have now lost three in a row after upsetting Melbourne in Round 2.

Suns coach Damien Hardwick praised his side’s maturity in weathering the storm before taking control.

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“There’s various times in the game we’ve been challenged, and our players have been able to stifle momentum and build our game back up. Previously we haven’t been able to do that that well,” Hardwick said.

North Melbourne coach Alastair Clarkson lamented his side’s failure to play four quarters.

“We’re showing enough in patches… but we’re not capable of doing it for long enough just yet,” Clarkson said.

Gold Coast heads to Marvel Stadium to face Richmond in Round 6, while the struggling Kangaroos meet Carlton.

North Melbourne v Gold Coast AFL final score

Gold Coast 21.15 (141)
North Melbourne 13.11 (89)

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