LYNCHY:
THE MOST IMPORTANT QCLASH EVER
THIS QClash is hugely important for both clubs. It’s the most important derby in the eight-year history of the rivalry and it’s the kind of game that can kickstart a season or stop one in its tracks.
Where both teams sit in their redevelopment, a win over their Queensland rival will be a massive boost in confidence for their young lists and indeed for their fans, proving that they are on the right track.
There’s no need for any type of fabricated build-up for this one.
In Round 2, Brisbane pushed the highly rated Melbourne after trailing by 42 points at one stage to draw level, only to let the game slip late.
The following week the Lions’ “honourable loss” to Port Adelaide was a huge effort that was so nearly converted into a great win against one of the flag favourites.
And as can happen with a young team after two near misses – and especially the Port loss – a 90-point defeat at the hands of reigning premiers Richmond sees the pressure suddenly increased.
Brisbane have rightly received plenty of positive press over the gains they are making under Chris Fagan over the past 12 months.
The footy world is excited about where the Lions are going and the youth that is coming through but a win sooner rather than later is essential to continue the redevelopment and the progress of a team that wants to return to the finals race in the very near future.
The Suns may be under even more pressure. Not winning this week will see their confidencebuilding 2-0 start to the season as ancient history after back-to-back losses in the west.
Stuart Dew has ticked every box in his first few months at the helm but would be disappointed not to have at least one win from the Gold Coast’s two-game visit to Perth.
History weighs heavily over this week’s game for the Suns.
QClashes have a history of derailing seasons for the Gold Coast and even coaching careers.
Inaugural coach Guy McKenna’s fate at the Suns was effectively sealed after the Round 18 loss to the Lions in 2014. Although there was the standard review process at the end of that season, insiders have always said it was McKenna’s reaction in the rooms after that heavy defeat that lost the playing group.
It seems incredible and something
McKenna must often ponder, that 2014 still remains the Suns’ most successful season.
Two years later came the next new dawn at the Suns when they leapt out of the blocks with a 3-0 start to the season. We all thought that maybe this was the year for the Suns to break into the finals for the first time, when they were unbackable favourites against a winless Lions side in Round 4. But the Lions caused a boilover and the Suns never recovered, winning just three more times for the year.
Even last year, when everything was said to be finally in place at the Suns, the Lions jumped them in Round 1 at Metricon, kicking the first seven goals and eventually hanging on by two points.
And then there’s the issue that just won’t go away until Tom Lynch signs a new contract on the Coast.
The Suns still need to convince their best player to stay, to convince him that the future is bright. A loss against last year’s bottom team wouldn’t help.