Suns end run of losses

GOLD Coast have snapped a seven-game winless streak with an impressive 10-goal victory over a forlorn North Melbourne at Metricon Stadium on Sunday night.

It was the Suns’ first win since beating Sydney in round 7 and ended a run of six losses and a draw. It was also the club’s fourth biggest ever win.

The victory also puts the club within striking distance of either equalling or bettering their best ever finishing position which was 12th in 2014 when they won 10 games.

They sit in 13th spot, just half a game adrift of Carlton which have a slightly superior percentage.

However, climbing as high as 12th will be challenging with matches against Brisbane, Collingwood and Hawthorn to close out the season. As for North Melbourne, they failed to score a goal in the second half and the season’s end cannot come quick enough. They sit in 17th spot with just three wins.

Gold Coast Sun’s rising star Izak Rankine set the scene early that he would play a major part with five score involvements in the first quarter alone.

Besides slotting the fourth goal of the match, the 20-yearold set-up full forward Max King for an opening quarter major while delivering a perfectly weighted pass into space for Josh Corbett to mark just 15m out.

Corbett may have failed to capitalise on Rankine’s deft work but his influence was telling and midway through the term North Melbourne coach Rhys Shaw gave Marley Williams the job of minding the creative small forward after he proved too much of a handful for Luke McDonald.

Williams made his presence known, often niggling the young Sun off the ball.