1. May reported for Curnow hit
A dirty night for Gold Coast could turn even worse with a Steven May bump on Ed Curnow sure to draw the attention of the Match Review Officer. May had been enjoying a solid game for the Suns, thwarting many Carlton attacking forays early in the first half. But early in the last quarter his bump on Curnow collected the Blue high and May went straight into the umpire's book. May was swung forward late and finished with a goal, but the Suns could be without their co-captain for next week's clash against Melbourne.

MUST BE A BLUE MOON Full match details and stats

2. Blues breakthrough for win two
It's been a long time coming but Brendon Bolton's men secured their second win of the season on the back of a strong showing from their youth. They've had the quality of the list questioned at times during this injury-ravaged season, but with Patrick Cripps leading the way the Blues showed the green shoots of their youth development. Marc Murphy played well as an old hand, but it was the performances of youngsters Cripps (38 disposals, 17 of which were contested, and 11 tackles), Sam Petrevski-Seton (26 disposals), Patrick Dow (two goals) and Jacob Weitering that would have Carlton fans optimistic for the future.


3. Patrick Cripps stars again.
His team might be rooted to the bottom of the table but Patrick Cripps continues to press his Brownlow Medal credentials. In a dire game that was crying out for a hero, Cripps stepped up with an all-action performance to drag his team into the match. His 14-possession, one-goal second quarter set Carlton’s comeback in motion and he continued to press in the second half to finish with best on ground honours. A tackle that saw David Swallow eventually leave the game with concussion was the only dampener on the night for the Blues midfield star.

WATCH: Cripp's brilliant in Blues' big win

4. David Swallow was seeing stars
Tough Suns midfielder David Swallow left the field late in the first quarter and didn’t return after a strong tackle from Carlton star Patrick Cripps. Swallow's head hit the ground hard and he had to be helped off by trainers. Swallow tried resisting the efforts of the Suns staff to drag him off the field, but he was clearly groggy and eventually was taken down the race and didn’t return, ruled out with concussion.  The injury means the incident will be looked at by Match Review Officer Michael Christian, but the tackle looked innocuous enough to not cause Cripps too much trouble.

5. Gold Coast horror home run continues
Suns fans were buoyant heading into Metricon Stadium after last week's shock win against Sydney, but again they left disappointed after another poor home showing.  They started strongly with the first three goals of the game, but didn’t trouble the goal umpire again until the 24th minute of the third quarter. During that period the Blues piled on seven unanswered goals to set up their 35-point win. The last Gold Coast home win was all the way back in round 15 last year. 

The loss was a big come-down for the Suns after beating the Swans in round 18. Picture: AFL Photos