'Public enemy No.1' robs Bulldogs in late review as Gold Coast Suns ...
Gold Coast have pulled off one of their finest wins of the AFL season, beating a fast-finishing Western Bulldogs by seven points to kick-start their push for a debut finals berth.
Jack Lukosius booted five goals, including four in the second quarter, while Matt Rowell turned in an imperious midfield performance to deliver a 13.6 (84) to 11.11 (77) victory at TIO Stadium.
WATCH IN THE VIDEO ABOVE: Bulldogs’ comeback bid halted by goal umpire’s flag in controversial review.
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The Suns held their nerve late as the Bulldogs, with the help of two contentious umpiring decisions, surged.
They were helped by a questionable 50-metre penalty against Ben Ainsworth, who was ruled to have stepped over the mark, that gifted Bailey Williams a goal.
Then, Ben Long was penalised for catching Weightman high off the ball and the forward drew the Bulldogs within a goal.
But youngster Bailey Humphrey pounced on a Lukosius attempted mark and dribbled through a brilliant goal to ice the game.
Aaron Naughton appeared to have kicked a dramatic late goal but the score review showed his snap had just clipped the goal umpire’s flag, which is counted as part of the goal post, and the Suns held on.
The Bulldogs followed the decision with a tweet describing the flag as “public enemy No.1”.
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Gold Coast, aiming to make their first finals series in their 13th season, improved their record to 5-6 while the wasteful Bulldogs (7-4) spurned a chance to leap into the top four.
The victory completed a rare quartet of upsets in Saturday’s fixtures after Hawthorn stunned St Kilda, Fremantle edged Melbourne and GWS defeated reigning premiers Geelong.
It was also a timely win for Suns coach Stuart Dew, who stood up for himself this week as recently departed Richmond mentor Damien Hardwick was linked to his job.
Rowell racked up 29 disposals, 16 clearances, eight score involvements and 702 metres gained along with a goal, while Lukosius’ second-quarter haul turned the game Gold Coast’s way.
Charlie Ballard (11 intercept possessions) intercepted at will for the Suns while the Bulldogs’ in-form defensive recruit Liam Jones (13 intercepts, seven marks) was superb.
Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (three goals) consistently threatened to break the game open but couldn’t haul the Bulldogs over the line, while Jack Macrae (33 touches) and Marcus Bontempelli (28) had plenty of the ball.
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The Bulldogs kicked the first three goals, including Ugle-Hagan dobbing a set shot after catching the ball-holding Wil Powell with a crunching tackle.
Gold Coast fought back and were buoyed when 100-gamer Nick Holman kicked a goal after the quarter-time siren to cut the deficit to two points.
Lukosius put the Suns in front early in the second term with an instinctive finish off the ground and nabbed three more, including a brilliant volley, to deliver a 22-point lead at the main break.
Bulldogs livewire Cody Weightman goaled after the three-quarter time siren to keep his side firmly in the contest.
Rowell’s excellent snap early in the final term steadied Gold Coast before the Bulldogs bit back for the thrilling finish.
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