GOLD Coast has announced itself as a serious player in this year’s premiership race with a 22-point win over Melbourne in Mackay on Saturday night.

The Suns were impressive from the outset in the humid conditions, answering every challenge to beat the Demons for the first time in their history, 9.7 (61) to 5.9 (39).

SUNS v DEMONS Full match coverage and stats

Their sixth straight victory puts them in a top-four spot with matches against Adelaide, Richmond and Greater Western Sydney to round out their home and away season.

After trailing by three points at quarter-time, Gold Coast used a powerful three-goal second term to build a 15-point half-time advantage and never looked back.

It had strong contributions all over the field, led by skilful half-back duo Daisy D’Arcy (26 disposals, including 10 intercepts) and Niamh McLaughlin (24 with 13 intercepts).

Charlie Rowbottom got going after a slow first quarter to finish with a game-high 33 touches (six clearances), while exciting youngsters Havana Harris, Ava Usher and Mikayla Nurse kicked two goals apiece.

Although Melbourne was missing key personnel Kate Hore and Mia Austin through injury, the Suns could not have been more impressive.

They regularly outnumbered their highly credentialed opponents around the ground and took the game on relentlessly with run and dare.

The young Suns got the scoring going early when Usher took a mark, immediately played on showed a clean pair of heels before drilling her shot on the run from 25m.

After Harris added another, Melbourne dominated the back half of the first quarter and took the lead on the siren when Alyssa Bannan pounced on an errant kick and snapped truly.

Gold Coast then opened the game up, willing to play attacking football when it won it back on any part of the ground.

Anne Hatchard was given a gift in the goalsquare by Harris. Darcie Davies plucked a contested mark before expertly splitting the sticks from a tight angle, and when Harris added a second for the night following a strong grab, the hosts had a healthy advantage at the main break.

Just what the Nurse ordered
While a lot of her fellow Gold Coast Academy graduates have had big moments in 2026, Saturday night was the turn of Mikayla Nurse. With the game still in the balance early in the third quarter, the athletic winger kicked her first career goal with a clever snap following nice lead-up play by Dekota Baron and Sunny Lappin. Later in the same quarter she kicked a second goal, coming forward to win a turnover and then banging home her right foot shot from a tricky angle.

The Suns are more than a ‘fun’ team this season
With so much untried youth in its team entering the season, it was hard to know just how good Gold Coast could be. However, with its sixth straight win coming against a competition powerhouse, the answer is there for us all to see. Rhyce Shaw’s team is getting better by the week, and while there’s still a chance for some inconsistency and a late-season stumble, the Suns are poised to earn a double chance with three rounds remaining.

Up next
Gold Coast will be out to make it seven straight wins when it travels to Adelaide to play the Crows next Saturday at Unley Oval (12.35pm ACDT). Melbourne has a six-day break to prepare for Richmond at Ikon Park on Friday night (7.15pm AEDT) in a match it must win to stay in the top four. 

GOLD COAST            2.1       5.2       8.3       9.7 (61)
MELBOURNE            2.4       2.5       4.7       5.9 (39)

GOALS
Gold Coast: Harris 2, Nurse 2, Usher 2, Hatchard, D.Davies, Baron
Melbourne: Hanks 2, Bannan, Livingstone, Campbell 

BEST 
Gold Coast: D’Arcy, Rowbottom, McLaughlin, Usher, Single, Lappin
Melbourne: Hanks, Gillard, Fitzsimon, Purcell

INJURIES
Gold Coast: Nil
Melbourne: Nil

Reports: Nil

Crowd: TBC at Great Barrier Reef Arena