1. Bulldogs find kicking boots in last-quarter blitz
The Western Bulldogs looked to have shot themselves in the foot in Cairns when they kicked 1.6 against the wind in the third quarter to go into the final break 26 points down to Gold Coast. But the Bulldogs' dominance of general play continued into the final term and they finally found their kicking boots and piled on a staggering 10.2 for the term to power to a 22-point win. It was a remarkable finish for a team that had kicked just four goals to three-quarter time, and which did not lead the game until Tory Dickson put them three points up at the 20-minute mark of the final term. Young guns Marcus Bontempelli and Jake Stringer led the charge with two majors each in the last-term blitz. 

SHOWREEL: Bulldogs storm home

2. Suns starting to shine again
On Saturday, Gold Coast might have gone down but they played more like the Suns we expected to see at the start of the season. It had been a wretched season for Rodney Eade's men before the return from injury of Gary Ablett and David Swallow last round helped power them to a 55-point win over North Melbourne. Ablett was again influential through the midfield against the Bulldogs with 30 touches as the Suns led all game until late in the final term. The Suns have been hit hard by injury this season and suffered further setbacks in Cairns with Charlie Dixon hobbled by an ankle injury and Michael Rischitelli copping a nasty knock to the thigh. However, they regained another long-term absentee against the Dogs when full-back Rory Thompson (hip) returned for this first senior game since round six. Thompson had his hands full with Jack Redpath but will be better for the run. And the Suns look set to finish the season on a far better note than they started it.

3. Teams struggle against the wind
The conditions in Cairns were ideal for football. By the first bounce the temperature had dropped from a high of 26.8 to 24.8 that was made to seem cooler by a pleasant breeze. That breeze played a big part in the match, however, with both teams struggling to score against it all game, with just five majors in total kicked at the Cazaly social club end, compared to 20 at the other end. In fairness, the Bulldogs seemed to adjust to the conditions in the third term, but crueled their dominance of general play with a 1.6 return before storming home in the final quarter.

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4. Cazaly lights up … eventually
Cazaly's Stadium looked a picture for Saturday's game with its lush playing surface having barely a blade of grass out of place. But not everything at the Cairns venue was working at optimum level as it hosted its one home and away fixture this year. For about four minutes in the first quarter the main scoreboard went blank. More concerningly at around the same time, three of the ground's six light towers shut down. Which was a worry given the twilight fixture was set to finish well after sunset. Fortunately, when the game needed light, there was light. Then again, should we have expected any less when the 'son of God' was on the field?

5. Young Dogs take another step in development
The Bulldogs were outplayed by Gold Coast in the first half, particularly around the stoppages where the Suns midfielders held sway. But it says a lot about the growing maturity of the young Dogs that they were able to work their way back into the game in the second half. Coach Luke Beveridge conceded after the match he was worried at three-quarter time that his side might have fired its best shots in a 1.6 third term, but the Bulldogs overcame the frustrations of their inaccurate goalkicking and powered away in the final term. That they did so away from Melbourne – albeit in a 'home' game – was another tick for the group's growth.