Live: Rising Suns host Swans with top four spot on the line

• Disposals: Sydney 97-72

• Inside 50s: Sydney 17-8

• Hit outs: Sydney 12-5

• Clearances: Sydney 12-6

• Centre Clearances: Sydney 8-1

• Contested Possessions: Sydney 36-27

• Uncontested Possessions: Sydney 63-47

• Marks Inside 50: Sydney 7-2

• Tackles: 13-13 

Another Gold Coast fumble gave a late goal to James Jordon, and the Swans are out to a 25-point margin at quarter time.

Even so the Suns will breath a sigh of relief that they are not further behind – a LOT further behind!

If they can get back to their best, they have a chance – but right now they are not managing to get the ball inside 50, and do anything with it when they do!

That was as good a quarter as we’ve seen from Sydney for some time.

The Swans are dominating the clearances right now.

Seven centre clearances to none! And 13 inside 50s to six.

Peter Ladhams is on the end of it – but he hits the far post from the left forward 50.

But now they get it again, and it’s Isaac Heeney to Ladhams to Chad Warner and he kicks another for Sydney!

It’s a three-goal lead and it could be worse!

Finally the Suns hit back.

They go forward and Ben Long hits the post from a set shot in the pocket.

But then the Swans turn it over again! And the Suns get it to Jake Rogers, who centres the ball perfectly for Bailey Humphrey, who kicks the goal.

This is looking alarming for the Suns here.

They are not able to stop Sydney at the centre clearances – 5-0 so far.

The ball goes inside the arc for Heeney to take another mark.

He kicks it, and the Swans lead by 19 points.

The Swans have nine inside 50s so far to Gold Coast’s four.

And Sydney have five scoring shots from those nine entries.

The Suns defence must tighten up here.

The Swans are making hay in the middle. They are getting plenty of centre clearances.

They go long again, and it comes to Corey Warner – and there’s another free to Sydney for a slight high touch.

That looked lucky. But anyway, Corey Warner slots it, and that is three goals in four minutes for the Swans.

What attacking issues?

The Swans get the ball out of the middle with a free and go long and direct.

Heeney finds Hayden McLean inside 50, and he gets 50 for a high shot.

He kicks it from close in, and the Swans are ahead!

It’s a warm day on the coast, and the Swans will want to keep the Suns close.

They answer quickly! A ball inside 50 and Peter Ladhams takes a clean mark in front.

He goes back and kicks it! Scores level.

Immediately the Suns move it down the ground at speed – they go down the far wing and boot it long inside 50 for Ben King to take the grab!

He has his moments with kicking accuracy – but no problems there!

The Suns have the first of the day!

A turnover on the wing from Gold Coast, the ball goes to James Rowbottom, and he kicks it long to the square.

What a grab from Isaac Heeney! He was monstered by a flying Suns defender but hung on.

But then he missed the kick.

It’s pretty willing out there early doors, and the Suns manage to feed the ball forward through any means necessary.

They get the ball inside 50, and Wil Powell snaps it just wide from the pocket.

There was some good early play from Riley Bice, laying a tackle on Bodhi Uwland on the wing to earn the free.

The Swans went inside 50, but the kick from Caiden Cleary in the left forward pocket was chopped off by John Noble on the line.

Here we go!

Who will put their stamp on the game early today? Stick with us to find out.

•  Can King rule at Carrara?

One of the hopeful signs about the Suns in 2025 is the strong start for Ben King. The Gold Coast spearhead has 18 goals after five games, and with any sort of decent game he is likely to be equal or sole leader of the Coleman Medal after today.

He is well on track to smash his season best of 55 goals, set last year, but forget about individual success – his team will be hoping he can provide a platform for the rest of the forward line to kick a winning score against the Swans.

• Make the entries pay:

Regardless of who they have or haven’t played so far this season, you can’t deny the Suns have showed an attacking ability rarely seen in their history.

They are clear leaders in the AFL for inside 50s, with an average of 63.8, nearly five entries ahead of their nearest rivals, Carlton. And while the Blues only average 12.5 goals a game for all their entries, the Suns have begun to make teams pay, with 16.2 goals a game.

There is still plenty of room for improvement, though – last week they managed just nine goals from 62 inside 50s against the Tigers.

The question is – can they do it against a Swans line-up that allows an average of 52 forward entries a week?

• Who’s going to kick the goals?

It’s fair to say that the Swans forward line is hardly inspiring fear in opposition defences so far this season. Only three teams (Melbourne, Richmond, West Coast) have a worse record than the Swans in 2025.

Matters are not helped by injuries to / absence of the likes of Joel Amartey, Tom Papley, Logan McDonald, not to mention key midfield figures like Errol Gulden and Callum Mills. Last week they nearly dragged a win out of the fire against Port Adelaide thanks to a brilliant final quarter from Aaron Francis. Can the former Bomber make another splash today?

• Cut the turnovers

The Swans are making almost the same amount of turnovers this season as last (when they did make the grand final) – 66.8 on average compared to 66.7 in 2024.

However it seems clear that almost everyone else is getting better at cutting down on the errors. This year the Swans are averaging the most turnovers a game in the league – and this week they are up against the team that is second-lowest in the AFL, with just 59.6 a game.

If the Swans want to come away with the points today, a good starting point will be avoiding giving the ball away – but good luck doing that against the Suns’ trademark pressure in 2025.

The flame is lit at Carrara, and we are hearing the Last Post echoing through a silent stadium.

It’s beautiful and emotional, as always.

And now a stirring rendition of the national anthem.

• Rd 7, 2024: Swans by 53 (SCG)

• Rd 22, 2023: Swans by 24 (SCG)

• Rd 1, 2023: Swans by 49 (Carrara)

• Rd 8, 2022: Suns by 14 (SCG)

• Rd 23, 2021: Swans by 87 (Docklands)

• Rd 6, 2021: Suns by 40 (Carrara)

As you might expect for an expansion club, the Suns trail the Swans by 13-4 overall in head-to-head action. The visitors have won the last three encounters, but only one of them was at today’s venue.

This is only the third time since 2016 that the Suns and Swans have met at Carrara, which is becoming a bit of a fortress for the home side — they’ve won eight of their last 10 here.

No changes for the Suns for today, despite the loss last week against the Tigers. For the Swans, Ben Paton and Peter Ladhams come in, for Sam Wicks and Joel Hamling.

The other change is that Sydney’s sub from last week, Aaron Francis, takes his place in the starting side after his three-goal haul against Port Adelaide.

Hello, good afternoon and welcome to ABC’s live coverage of the AFL to wrap up round seven.

First up, we have an intriguing matchup on the Gold Coast, where the Suns will want to erase the memory of last week’s loss to Richmond. They host a Sydney side that may be struggling so far in 2025, but who have a decided advantage against the Suns head-to-head.

If Damien Hardwick’s men can win today, they will make life tough for Dean Cox and Co, but also answer the critics and consolidate their spot in the top four.

Next, we will switch focus to the MCG, where Michael Voss and the Blues have a must-win match against Geelong. After all the pre-season optimism, Carlton are two games out of the eight already, and a loss today ramp up the pressure on the whole club and leave the Cats purring in the top four.

Finally, Hawthorn are looking for a circuit-breaker after two losses on the bounce to Port Adelaide and Geelong. They will be favourites to make it happen, as they host West Coast at Docklands.

My name is Andrew McGarry, and I’m delighted to bring you all the early action before I hand over to Marnie Vinall to see you all home for the end of the round.