Ben King burst into goal-kicking form but a Touk Miller knee injury has soured a crucial Gold Coast AFL win over North Melbourne.
The Suns snapped a two-game losing streak, restricting the Kangaroos to just two points in the third quarter in a 14.13 (97) to 7.12 (54) home victory.
But just as the lead swelled beyond 40 points the celebrations were muted by the sight of All-Australian midfielder Miller pulling up and clutching his left leg, in an injury which appeared to have been caused by two separate incidents.
The Suns co-captain was unable to put any weight on his leg as he was helped from the ground and immediately fitted with a knee brace.
Miller was third in Brownlow Medal votes last season and his absence would be a blow for the 2-4 side that has designs on a maiden finals campaign.
That quest was helped by their dominance on Sunday, which offset a frustrating three weeks since their stunning upset of Geelong.
“He was really positive but it’s clearly going to mean some time off, it’s just how long,” coach Stuart Dew said of Miller, who is set to have scans on Monday.
“It’ll force us into a little bit of a change, but there’s opportunity there, some exposure for different guys we’ll try to make the most of.”
The loss for North Melbourne followed a 75-point thumping from Brisbane last week and is a fourth-straight defeat since their plucky 2-0 start.
It was Kangaroos ruckman Todd Goldstein’s 300th AFL game but it was the Suns who started best.
Coach Alastair Clarkson could at least find solace in North’s partial recovery from those opening stages, while lamenting their failure to convert opportunities.
“Gee we were really flat; they had 10 inside 50s to zero in the first five minutes and we actually did well to correct that,” he said.
“At important times we could have capitalised and got into the contest, we weren’t able to take those chances.”
Ben McKay struggled to contain King (five goals), who shed the last flecks of rust that remained after missing all of last season with a knee injury to drill four first-half goals.
Nick Holman shut down North youngster Harry Sheezel (11 disposals) and the Suns’ stifling third quarter was enough to seal the result.
Lachie Weller (28 disposals, eight inside 50s) and Matt Rowell (12 tackles) were integral early while Jaidyn Stephenson (two goals, three score assists) did his best to keep the Kangaroos in it.
Goldstein set up one of those Stephenson goals but it was his opposite number Jarrod Witts, back from a two-week injury, who was smiling after he chipped through a rare goal of his own during a pivotal performance.
Ben Cunnington had eight clearances in his team-high 28 disposals for the Kangaroos.
© AAP 2023
