Lifeless Suns need an Ablett miracle
GOLD Coast will be praying Gary Ablett can return for the Suns’ final roll of the dice after they slipped further out of the finals race with a 32point loss to St Kilda at Etihad Stadium last night.
The margin flattered the Suns as the inaccurate Saints booted 14.19 (103) 10.12 (72) in front of a poor crowd of 15,844.
With Aaron Hall likely to miss multiple weeks after injuring his hamstring at training on Friday and Pearce Hanley also now in doubt after failing to finish yesterday’s game, an old-style Ablett masterclass in his 300th game against the Kangaroos at Metricon Stadium on Saturday seems to be the only thing that can breathe any life into the Suns’ season.
With a 5-7 win-loss record, Gold Coast’s season was on the line heading into the clash with the 11th-placed Saints, who sit a game clear of them.
But the expected desperation such a situation called for was absent.
The Suns weren’t terrible and they didn’t put up the white flag like they have been guilty of at times in matches this year – they just lacked spark.
They went about their business within the pace of the game when they were crying out for someone to elevate themselves above it and make a difference.
Hanley was probably the one player who looked most likely until he injured his hamstring in the opening minutes of the final term.
He was assessed by club doctors on the sideline and immediately handed a tracksuit and retired for the day.
While Ablett was not there to inspire the troops, some comments he made midweek hung over the performance.
Ablett was beaten up by Carlton last week and although was Blues tagger Ed Curnow received the plaudits, it was an 18-man gang-up on the two-time Brownlow medallist.
Meanwhile, the Suns let Bryce Gibbs roam free.
Ablett predicted the Suns would apply similar tactics to a Saints player but there was no noticeable difference in the defensive accountability of any of their midfielders.
It would have been a good idea though as Jack Billings ran amok in the first half.
At halftime he had a game high 18 possessions, had won four clearances and had five score involvements in addition to kicking a goal himself.
Having someone apply a hard tag to him would have drastically changed the look of the match.
Alex Sexton was given the job after halftime and although he slowed Billings down a fraction, it is hard to stop a player when they are on such a roll.