GOLD COAST 5.5 11.9 15.14 17.19 (121) ESSENDON 1.0 5.1 7.5 9.6 (60)
GOALS Gold Coast: Lynch 4, Hall 2, Martin 2, Day 2, Sexton, Ah Chee, Prestia, Ablett, Lonergan, Malceski, Miller. Essendon: Stokes 3, Zaharakis 2, Daniher, Langford, Crowley, McKernan.
BEST Gold Coast: Ablett, Hall, Lynch, Rosa, May, Prestia. Essendon: Zaharakis, Stokes, Parish, Merrett, Kelly.
INJURIES Gold Coast: Kolodjashnij (illness) replaced in selected side by Ah Chee; Saad (groin).
UMPIRES Hay, McInerney, Hosking.
Crowd: 16,239 at Metricon Stadium.
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Suns outshine Bombers
The embattled Essendon’s AFL campaign is off to a worrying start after a 61-point loss to Gold Coast.
Some things are as sure as the sun rising in the east. Gary Ablett – finally back to full fitness after just six games last year – is back for the Gold Coast Suns, and if there was a little rust evident in some of those early touches against Essendon, he still ended up accumulating over 30 of them, along with nine clearances and a goal.Â
There were a few glitches – a few sprayed shots at goal, and he was uncharacteristically run down in the third quarter – but for the most part it was as if the little master had never been away. His second-quarter goal from just outside 50 metres, a passage of play in which he was involved three times, was a work of art.Â
As surely as the sun sets in the west, though, the Bombers will finish among the bottom few this year, and that makes the Suns' runaway victory hard to gauge. It hardly needs to be said that they are a team patched together by cast-offs, also-rans and a few who might unkindly be called hasbeens. But that is the reality.Â
So the result, and the 10-goal margin, was no surprise. The Suns went inside 50 a whopping 66 times to Essendon's 40 and had 12 individual goalkickers, with Tom Lynch kicking four. Lynch is a certainty to be cited by the match review panel, though, after hitting Mark Baguley high with a misdirected spoil in the first quarter.Â
That  could make the Suns' encounter with Fremantle at Domain Stadium that much harder than it already is. Lynch remains the focal point of the Suns' attack, particularly in the absence of Charlie Dixon, now with Port Adelaide. Â
A few Suns performances, besides the captain's, stood out.Â
Nick Malceski, who had an awful first year after crossing from Sydney, played like a recruit. Matt Rosa, who actually is one after crossing from West Coast, had an excellent first outing with his new club.Â
Dion Prestia, who will be one of the most dangerous players in the competition this year, worked his way slowly into the game but reminded everybody why he was so sorely missed by the Suns last year. And Aaron Hall, who had 36 touches, again underlined his credentials as arguably the most improved player in the competition.Â
For the Bombers, it wasn't a matter of lack of will, or spirit, as it was cattle. David Zaharakis – the man whose fear of needles saw him escape the scandal that consumed his club – was by far their best player, but Essendon have few others near the peak of their career still allowed to take the field.Â
Their fans would be encouraged by the debut of baby-faced Darcy Parish, whose endeavour belied his appearance, even if his disposal wasn't always at a high level.
Parish's performance was of a level that will give the club  some hope for a future that remains a long way off.