1. Mitch Robinson – the Suns' greatest enemy
While the QClashes have been spiteful in the past (most noteably Steven May's hit on Stefan Martin earlier in the season), it appears the Suns' biggest enemy is a single player - Mitch Robinson. The professional pest has been hassling opponents all season, but he hurt the Suns in another way in this match. Gary Ablett and Michael Rischitelli were both badly injured attempting to tackle Robinson, at opposing ends of the match. Rischitelli's knee gave way five minutes into the match, when he attempted to tackle a dodging Robinson. Ablett had been struggling to deal with Robinson throughout the match, and after tackling him five minutes into the final quarter, pulled up and clutched at his left shoulder, immediately leaving the ground for the changerooms. It was the same shoulder that has kept him out of the game in previous seasons.

Full match coverage and stats

2. Sun Jack Martin shines
The No.1 draft pick in the 2012 "mini-draft" of 17-year-olds has been promising to break the game open at some point, and this was the match. Martin had 20 disposals to half-time - his previous career best was 21. He looked comfortable across half-back, setting up numerous forward forays, along with Aaron Hall and Jarrod Harbrow. While he dropped off in the second half as the Lions worked their way into the match, Martin still finished with 29 disposals in probably the best game of his career. 

GAMEBREAKER: Martin's dashing display

3. Suns' forward line too strong
The Suns were on track to top their highest-ever score of 152 at half-time, and this was in no small part down to their tall forwards. Tom Lynch, standing half-a-head taller than Daniel Merrett, was consistently a threat in the first half, and Peter Wright managed to catch the Lions' defence off-guard on several occasions - something that's difficult to do if you stand 203cm. Both finished the match with five goals. After half-time it was the small forwards' turn to harass the Brisbane Lions' defence, with Callum Ah Chee kicking two goals in a row, and Matera and Garlett often threatening to break the game open. 

4. Young Lions show teammates how it's done
For weeks, the pressure has been on the Brisbane Lions' leaders to perform well, and while they didn't play too badly this week, it was the youngsters who stood up. In their third-quarter comeback, Harris Andrews, Eric Hipwood, Daniel McStay, Rhys Mathieson and Jarrad Janson were all influential. Andrews kicked two goals after moving into the forward line and McStay was lively off half-back after taking Andrews' spot. Rhys Mathieson finished with 24 disposals and Janson wasn't afraid to throw his weight around. Hipwood was the most damaging of the Lions' forwards, finishing with four goals.

5. Corridor footy
The Lions have been blown away in recent weeks, playing well for the first quarter but struggling to maintain their focus. This match seemed to be going down the same path, but the Lions put up a fight, kicking five goals in a row in the third term. The Lions' style of play was also noticeable. In previous weeks, they've reverted to over-possessing the ball across half-back when under pressure, constantly racking up big numbers of disposals for little result before turning it over. Against Gold Coast, they often went through the middle of the ground and used handball chains to break down the Suns' defence. It resulted in their highest score of the season, despite their eleventh-straight loss.