Live: Suns look to reverse form and kickstart season against Hawks

The Suns are still energetic, but they are not finding the best pass to set up the chances.

An attack broke down, and the Hawks cleared out. They went down the left wing and kicked to 50, where Sam Collins launched himself and punched the ball free.

That was important, it would have likely been a goal if he hadn’t cleared it.

That’s better for the Hawks.

They get the ball back in their front half, kick long to 50 where Dylan Moore takes a contested mark.

He goes back and kicks it! The Suns lead is back to six points, nearly halfway through the opening term.

The Hawks have not had the ball much in their forward half, but Sicily set up an attack. The bouncing ball came to Mitch Lewis who stuck his foot out and kicked it wide for a point.

The Suns are definitely on top early with more energy.

They are switching things around, they go wide to Jai Murray who straightens and kicks long to Ben Long for a mark in the right forward pocket.

He’s lining up, but James Sicily is having problems with the umpire, and it’s 50!

Long kicks from close range and it’s a goal!

Christian Petracca is not in the midfield to start off, he’s up forward, while Touk Miller is joining Noah Anderson and Matt Rowell in the middle.

The intensity is definitely up for the Suns, and for Bailkey Humphrey.

The Suns number 19 forces a holding the ball in the middle, it gets spread out, Daniel Rioli hits Ben Long inside 50.

But Long’s kick skews wide right and out on the full!

Poor miss.

That took less than 30 seconds!

An early free to the Suns, the ball was hoofed forward, it bounced around and Bailey Humphrey grabbed the pill and slammed it on his boot.

It goes through from 25m out!

The Suns get the fast start.

It’s go-time at Carrara – who is going to get the points tonight?

A Suns win would answer the critics, while a Hawks victory would be give them the launch they need to get inside the top four and set themselves up for a real chance at the double chance.

Who wins? Let’s find out.

• R8, 2026: Hawthorn by 49 (Launceston)

• R11, 2025: Gold Coast by 8 (Darwin)

• R6, 2024: Gold Coast by 53 (Carrara)

• R15, 2023: Gold Coast by 67 (Carrara)

• R21, 2022: Hawthorn by 7 (Launceston)

• R11, 2022: Gold Coast by 67 (Darwin)

The Suns have had the better of the recent history against the Hawks, winning four of the last six meetings. only two of those last six games have been played at Carrara, with two others at their northern fortress in Darwin, and two more at the Hawks’ southern fortress in Launceston.

There have been a couple of close ones — an eight-point win for the Suns in Darwin and a seven-point win for Hawthorn in Launceston.

But by and large the margins have been more than comfortable. Over the last 10 encounters, the average winning margin has been a tick under 41 points.

The Hawks have had an interesting run of footy in the last six or seven weeks.

A draw with Collingwood in round eight was followed by losses to Fremantle and Melbourne before wins over Adelaide and St Kilda.

Then two weeks ago they were beaten by the Bulldogs in a Friday night thriller at the MCG. Now they come up against a Suns side also seeking more consistency in their footy.

One item to note here is that while Hawthorn doesn’t play up on the Coast that often, they haven’t been that successful either.

The Hawks have lost their last four at Carrara – and the last time they beat the Suns here was a 99-point thumping in 2014.

Can they do it tonight?

It’s nearly game time at Carrara, and the Suns are out on the park wearing their pink colours which have proven a big hit for the fans.

However, fair to say they won’t care what colours they have on, as long as they get the points tonight.

Dylan,

I’m no good with fantasy footy, but as far as “The Wizard” goes, it’s a decent chance he’ll be among the scorers tonight.

Nick Watson has played the Suns twice – he kicked two goals back in round seven in Launceston, and last year he booted three goals against them in Darwin.

Congratulations for Nick Holman, who has been brought back into the team for his 150th AFL game to provide some intensity and toughness on the ball.

Holman has had a long road to 150 – he played nine games in two seasons for Carlton, then had two seasons away before being taken in the 2018 rookie draft by the Suns.

Tonight is his 141st game for the Suns, for a total of 150.

Damien Hardwick was a spectator for a while at Carrara for the curtain-raiser for tonight’s match, the VFL game between the Suns and Box Hill.

The Suns coach would not have liked what he saw, as Gold Coast barely escaped being beaten by 100 points.

Box Hill kicked 21.16 (142) to the Suns’ 6.9 (45), after the Suns led narrowly in the second quarter.

There weren’t too many highlights from the home side’s point of view, although Suns Academy player Dylan Patterson had 20 disposals and seven clearances.

Let’s hope for the Suns’ sake that the senior team lifts the intensity for the clash against the Hawks.

There are no late changes for either team — and you can see the line-ups above.

The Suns have omitted three players — Lachie Gulbin, Ben Jepson and Charlie Ballard — after last week’s loss to Geelong.

In come two veterans and a newcomer. Jarrod Witts comes back in the ruck, Nick Holman returns to the side and Beau Addinsall makes his AFL debut.

The young midfielder, who was a Burleigh Bombers junior, becomes the third Suns Academy player — after Zeke Uwland and Jai Murray — to debut this season.

For Hawthorn, Flynn Perez and Bodie Ryan have been omitted. In come key defender Tom Barrass and Harry Morrison.

Hello, good evening and welcome to ABC’s continuing live online coverage of round 15 in the AFL.

Last night we were in Perth, tonight we cross the country to the Gold Coast, where the Suns host Hawthorn at Carrara.

The Suns are ninth on the ladder and in danger of slipping out of even the wild card spots.

A win tonight against the fifth-placed Hawks would be a kickstart for their season.

My name is Andrew McGarry and I’m delighted to be bringing you all the action tonight.

Let’s jump in!