From 40 points down, Magpies storm back to steal the lead – but Suns hold them off in Gold Coast classic

The Gold Coast Suns have won a match against the ladder leaders for the first time in their history after they toppled the Magpies in a thriller to tighten their grip on their first finals spot.

A brilliant second quarter set up the win with the lead reaching 40 points early in the third quarter before Collingwood, who had been held goalless in the first half for the first time since 2021, mounted an incredible, exciting comeback.

With Jeremy Howe out injured at half-time, the surprise sub Scott Pendlebury was injected into the game and immediately made a difference. With Josh Daicos going into the middle and Nick Daicos moved to half-back, the visitors stormed back into the game with eight of the next nine goals to hit the front midway through the final quarter.

The Suns appeared reactive, nervous and altogether gone but their skipper Noah Anderson took responsibility, winning the centre clearance to create a lead-restoring goal for Ben Long. He then stormed from the back of the centre bounce to kick a running goal from the clearance to stretch the lead beyond a goal. It was enough breathing space for the Suns to hang on and win by six points, 10.9 (69) to 8.15 (63).

The Magpies will rue missed shots from straight in front to Dan McStay and Ned Long in the final quarter, but they would have stolen it in the end as the Suns should have had a bigger lead at half-time.

A relieved Anderson told Seven it was a huge result for the club, which lost former skipper Touk Miller to a hamstring injury in the first half.

“I didn’t want it that close in the end. It was so good and great for the club. There has been a lot of people waiting ... a lot of time to play footy for this, it is pretty special,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he could sense his Suns going back into their shells as the result began to loom large in their minds. He took the initiative and it paid off.

“Sometimes when you are on the back foot you can be really reactive,” Anderson admitted.

“That is what we were doing. We weren’t playing to our strengths, really. We had to have guts and back ourselves in, and that is what we did. They [the Magpies] are a fantastic side. They were always going to come. Credit to them, [they were] so tough tonight. They make it so hard for the opposition.”

Matt Rowell was brilliant with 32 touches and 13 tackles. He also kicked two important goals.

Dan Rioli, a three-time premiership player during his time with Richmond, was excellent – using his big game experience to bring the team home, while youngster Jed Walter made several big defensive spoils to ice the game.

There’s a Daicos lifting big-time for the Magpies, and it’s older brother Josh, while former skipper Scott Pendlebury has inspired his team since coming on at half-time. Collingwood have the first six inside-50s of the final term and kicked the first three goals in the quarter, with the margin now just 10 points. This is a mighty effort for the visitors, given they were 40 points down at one stage.

Tim Membrey breaks the duck with nine minutes remaining in the third quarter. That’s a sentence we never thought we’d be typing tonight.

The Gold Coast Suns have won a match against the ladder leaders for the first time in their history after they toppled the Magpies in a thriller to tighten their grip on their first finals spot.

A brilliant second quarter set up the win with the lead reaching 40 points early in the third quarter before Collingwood, who had been held goalless in the first half for the first time since 2021, mounted an incredible, exciting comeback.

With Jeremy Howe out injured at half-time, the surprise sub Scott Pendlebury was injected into the game and immediately made a difference. With Josh Daicos going into the middle and Nick Daicos moved to half-back, the visitors stormed back into the game with eight of the next nine goals to hit the front midway through the final quarter.

The Suns appeared reactive, nervous and altogether gone but their skipper Noah Anderson took responsibility, winning the centre clearance to create a lead-restoring goal for Ben Long. He then stormed from the back of the centre bounce to kick a running goal from the clearance to stretch the lead beyond a goal. It was enough breathing space for the Suns to hang on and win by six points, 10.9 (69) to 8.15 (63).

The Magpies will rue missed shots from straight in front to Dan McStay and Ned Long in the final quarter, but they would have stolen it in the end as the Suns should have had a bigger lead at half-time.

A relieved Anderson told Seven it was a huge result for the club, which lost former skipper Touk Miller to a hamstring injury in the first half.

“I didn’t want it that close in the end. It was so good and great for the club. There has been a lot of people waiting ... a lot of time to play footy for this, it is pretty special,” Anderson said.

Anderson said he could sense his Suns going back into their shells as the result began to loom large in their minds. He took the initiative and it paid off.

“Sometimes when you are on the back foot you can be really reactive,” Anderson admitted.

“That is what we were doing. We weren’t playing to our strengths, really. We had to have guts and back ourselves in, and that is what we did. They [the Magpies] are a fantastic side. They were always going to come. Credit to them, [they were] so tough tonight. They make it so hard for the opposition.”

Matt Rowell was brilliant with 32 touches and 13 tackles. He also kicked two important goals.

Dan Rioli, a three-time premiership player during his time with Richmond, was excellent – using his big game experience to bring the team home, while youngster Jed Walter made several big defensive spoils to ice the game.

What. A. Match.

Heading into this clash, it was impossible to see the Suns jumping out to a 40-point lead over the red-hot premiership favourites, but not only did they do that, they staved off a furious Pies comeback to win by a single straight kick, 10.9 (69) to 8.15 (63).

It wasn’t high-scoring, but that was brilliant footy to watch.

Josh Daicos has had eight disposals in the past 10 minutes and kicked two goals as a reminder to why he won the Collingwood best and fairest in a premiership year (2023). But misses by Ned Long and Dan McStay are proving costly.

Gold Coast skipper Noah Anderson kicked a brilliant team lifting goal when the Suns needed it most to stretch the lead back out to nine points after the Magpies won back the lead. Ben Long kicked a goal then Anderson did what he has promised to do since his career started. It was the definition of a captain’s goal.

They kicked the goals from centre clearance.

Collingwood have exerted serious, sustained pressure on the Suns, and Damien Hardwick’s men have melted. They have stopped running and are reactive rather than pro-active, and the margin is now under a goal as Lachie Schultz brings the margin back to three points.

There’s a Daicos lifting big-time for the Magpies, and it’s older brother Josh, while former skipper Scott Pendlebury has inspired his team since coming on at half-time. Collingwood have the first six inside-50s of the final term and kicked the first three goals in the quarter, with the margin now just 10 points. This is a mighty effort for the visitors, given they were 40 points down at one stage.