Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick has declared his club will no longer be stomped on or forgotten after beating Fremantle in dramatic fashion to set up a blockbuster Q-Clash semi-final.
The Suns blew a 26-point lead against the Dockers on Saturday night but managed to regain their composure in the dying minutes to seal a famous one-point elimination final win at Optus Stadium.
Suns defender Mac Andrew drifted forward to kick the game-tying goal with just 72 seconds remaining.
Then the retiring David Swallow kicked the match-winning behind from a 50m set shot with just nine seconds left on the clock after being tackled without the ball.
“To be honest, I didn’t think I had the legs in me. But I managed to get there,” an elated Swallow told Fox Footy after his kick sealed the 11.14 (80) to 12.7 (79) win.
Gold Coast have been a laughing stock for much of their 15-year history. Not anymore, with Hardwick turning the Suns into a formidable, battle-hardened unit capable of beating the competition’s elite sides.
“It was quite a special win – I’ve never won an elimination final actually. That’s one of the things I ticked off my little list,” said Hardwick, who led Richmond to three flags.
“They [Gold Coast’s players] have changed the narrative of this playing group, which is so important.
“At the end of the day, we’ve been a club that’s been – I don’t want to say ridiculed – but stomped on, forgotten, and all of a sudden the narrative has changed. We’re very proud of what they’ve done thus far.”
Gold Coast’s next challenge is taking on a banged-up Brisbane outfit who are licking their wounds following Friday night’s 38-point qualifying final loss to Geelong.
Star Lions midfielder Lachie Neale pinged his calf late in that game and has been ruled out for the rest of the season, and forward Eric Hipwood (knee) also won’t feature again in 2025.
Gold Coast thumped Brisbane by 66 points six weeks ago, but that was on home comforts at People First Stadium.
Saturday night’s semi-final will be played at the Gabba – a venue where Gold Coast have lost 10 straight games, including losses to Collingwood, Richmond and Melbourne during the COVID-affected seasons.
“At some stage, little brother has got to step up and take them on on their home deck,” Hardwick said.
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“So we look forward to that challenge. We’ve managed to knock a few things over this year that we haven’t achieved thus far – a victory here [in Perth] is one of those, and a victory at the Gabba would be incredibly nice.
“But what we do know, Brisbane are a very proud side, so well coached, well drilled.”
Brisbane lead the overall Q-Clash head-to-head record 21-8, but the stakes have never been this high.
Hardwick is urging his team to embrace the challenge, and he wants Suns fans to flood to the Gabba.
“I think it’d be the biggest game in the history of south-east Queensland, I would imagine, so scalpers will be going crazy with ticket sales and all that sort of stuff,” Hardwick said.
“Hopefully we can get as many Suns people there as we can. I think this group has only started our journey really. It’s been 15 years of hard work, and we’ve managed to make the finals, first and foremost.
“But to have our first victory in a final is incredibly rewarding. Now we get the great challenge of trying to beat Brisbane on their home patch.”
