Suns’ flop baffling
TOUK Miller says he is at a loss to explain Gold Coast’s capitulation against Carlton that came a week after their historic maiden win against Sydney.
Gold Coast’s mantra was to ride the winning feeling from the victory in Sydney but the Suns crumbled under the weight of expectation to lose 12.7 (79) to 5.14 (44) to the Blues in front of 10,776 spectators at Metricon Stadium.
“We put in a really good performance last week and we just didn’t do it this week, plain and simple,” Miller said.
“We brought it in the first 15 minutes of the first quarter and from then on we just capitulated.
“I’m not sure why we delivered that. It paints a bad image because I don’t think we had the intentions of coming out to roll them.
“We knew there was going to be even more expectation after last week and we didn’t get the job done.
“We wanted to ride that winning feeling. It was one of our mantras going into the week but we didn’t take the momentum into the game.
“For me the most disappointing thing was one of our brothers (Jarrod Harbrow) played his 150th game for the club and we let him down.
“It was a big moment for the club and everyone involved, so it’s pretty disappointing.”
The loss could also come with a heavy toll. Midfield bull David Swallow left the field late in the first quarter with concussion after being caught under the weight of Patrick Cripps in a tackle.
Swallow was wobbly on his feet and had to be helped by multiple trainers to the change rooms.
The 25-year-old was walking freely soon after and attended the team’s recovery session the next day but is no certainty to make the trip to play the Melbourne Demons at the MCG this Sunday.
“He is a tough unit,” Miller said. “It wasn’t good to see someone that wobbly on their feet. It would have been handy to have him in the game but those things happen and you have to move on from it.”
Suns co-captain Steven May is also facing suspension after being reported for a bump on Ed Curnow.