A 25-point margin saw Footscray go down to Gold Coast at VU Whitten Oval in perfect conditions for football on Saturday afternoon.
An arm wrestle for much of the day saw Footscray within striking distance until the very end, before a strong-finishing Gold Coast Suns held off a valiant Footscray outfit to come away 11.6 (72) to 14.13 (97) victors.
Neither team was able to gain the momentum in the first quarter, but back-to back goals from Charlie Cormack saw the Dogs head into quarter-time with an 11-point lead.
The Suns immediately wrestled that momentum back, with three goals within the first five minutes of the second quarter, as the remainder of the first half was played between the flanks thanks to some stout defending both aerially and on the ground from the Dogs.
Gold Coast’s eight-point lead was maintained for much of the third quarter, before Jamarra Ugle-Hagan proved to be an energy spark and almost turned the game on its head.
Two goals from the promising forward saw the margin at 10 points heading into the final change, as Gold Coast proved too strong in the final term, countering Footscray’s four goals with their six.
Skipper Lachie Sullivan continued his stellar season with 29 disposals, five tackles, and eight clearances, while Charlie Parker looked right at home in the defensive half with 20 disposals and a goal pushing up the ground.
Ugle-Hagan finished the day with three goals from his 12 disposals and six marks, showing some exciting and threatening patches in the forward half, while Josh Schache and Cormack were the only other multiple goalscorers for the game with two each.
Hayden Crozier (24 disposals, eight marks) was sound as usual, while Sam Darcy proved to be a strong component of the back six, showing strong intercept and outlet marking capabilities to go with his trusty ball use on either side of his body.
Arthur Jones (16 disposals) looked lively patrolling the wings, showing a willingness to work both ways with a big intercept mark in the goal square, while looking especially dangerous moving forward with the footy.
Joel Garner (17 disposals) and Dom Bedendo (14 disposals) did not waver with their efforts, both hitting the scoreboard in the final term, with the latter almost taking mark of the year on a couple of occasions early in the game.
Footscray will look to get back on the winner’s list when they play cross-town rivals Williamstown at Downer Oval on Saturday 28 May at 2.05pm.
MATCH DETAILS
Footscray 3.2 4.3 7.6 11.6 (72)
Gold Coast 1.3 5.5 8.10 14.13 (97)
Goals: Ugle-Hagan 3, Cormack 2, Schache 2, Bedendo, Garner, Macpherson, Parker.
