Gold Coast Suns open season with thumping 56-point win over Geelong, as Christian Petracca and Bailey Humphrey star

That was a challenging Opening Round for Geelong, but you can’t argue with Gold Coast’s dominant performance.

Fair to say, if they keep playing like that the Cats won’t be the only team running into a big margin on the Coast this season.

The Christian Petracca – Bailey Humphrey partnership will be one to watch, while for the Cats, the return of some key personnel can’t come soon enough.

We will be back tomorrow for GWS vs Hawthorn and Brisbane vs Western Bulldogs.

But in the meantime, from myself Andrew McGarry, thank you for joining us tonight, and have a good evening! 

Geelong coach Chris Scott has faced the media after that tough opening loss.

“It’s obviously a really difficult night, but what’s important is for us to take what we need from that and move on,” he said.

“We won’t be overreacting to our performance.

“We knew we had issues going in … we probably needed them [the Suns] to be a bit off, and they were quite the opposite.

“We do need to be a bit careful we don’t make it bigger than it is.”

Scott said that sometimes when you get beaten by that much it makes it “look like we got slaughtered”, but he didn’t feel that happened tonight.

“To me we would look ok, then make a skill error and they burned us on the way back.”

Suns coach Damien Hardwick has been speaking to Fox Footy as well, after an impressive start to the season by his charges.

“I thought our contest and pressure was very good,” he said.

“We probably took a few too many petrol tickets before that final quarter,” he added, acknowledging the performance to achieve a winning lead was impressive.

Asked about Christian Petracca, the coach had a similar response to anyone watching that display.

“He’s outstanding, isn’t he?”

“I think we know  the type of player he can be, his ball use in the front half was sublime.

“The way he’s gone about his preseason, he’s set himself up for a great year.”

Speaking about Petracca and Bailey Humphrey, he said: “They complement each other really well.

“They are forging a really strong partnership.”

Christian Petracca is talking to Fox Footy after that stellar performance — the highest rated performance of his career from a premiership player and Norm Smith medallist.

“I didn’t think we’d play the way we did, you dream of that — but to come out and do a … three and a half quarter performance is great,” Petracca said.

“I feel like I play my best when my defensive contribution is there. I’m just grateful to be at this club.”

There was a lot of love for his partner in crime, Bailey Humphrey, who he described as an incredible player and person.

“He reminds me of me a bit. he puts a lot of pressure on himself.

“The chemistry (with Humphrey) is amazing!”

“We have the licence to play – tonight Bailey was going well up forward and I was in the middle, but there’ll be games where that gets flipped.

Unsurprisingly the Suns are up and about in the rooms, with a spirited rendition of the club song after Christian Petracca and Zeke Uwland are hosed with a certain coloured drink.

Damien Hardwick is standing on the steps of the rooms watching with a smile on his face. That’s not a bad start to the season for the Coasters.

Inside 50s: 71-50 Gold Coast

Clearances 41-34 Geelong

Contested Possessions: 145-135 Gold Coast

Uncontested Possessions: 260-226 Gold Coast

The longest night ends for Geelong with the final siren.

At least the Cats gave themselves something to go on with with that five goal final term.

But there is one headline out of this game and it is the Suns and how dangerous they are.

Four goals for Ben King and Bailey Humphrey, but the star of the Suns was Christian Petracca.

he had 34 disposals, three goals, five marks, six clearances, 10 inside 50s and 12 score involvements. Frightening stuff.

If he can produce that sort of game regularly, then the sky is the limit for Gold Coast.

The Cats keep coming, and they have their fifth of the final quarter through Ollie Henry.

It’s all too little, too late – but Damien Hardwick would not be happy.

The margin is back to 55.

We are deep in time on here, and the Suns have got on the board for the final term.

Joel Jeffrey intercepted on the wing, ran a few steps and then hooked a kick to the centre of the ground, where Noah Anderson was waiting. Not sure if it was intentional, but it worked.

The skipper boots one from 50, and the crowd goes up once more.

The lead is back over 10 goals.

The Suns have nearly managed to get one back there, and of course it was Christian Petracca involved.

The number three – who has been exhorting his teammates to lift again and hit back against this final quarter rush from Geelong – pounced on the ball near 50 and fed a beautiful pass to Will Graham.

Graham went back, but his kick sprayed to the right.

Zeke Uwland has had a very decent debut for the Suns, but he has been on the receiving end of a brilliant half quarter of footy from Ollie Dempsey.

The number 32 is frustrated, and he’s now shifted off Dempsey onto Bailey Smith.

One of the toughest things to do in the AFL is stop momentum when the other team has it.

Right now it’s Geelong, they get a centre clearance, flush it downfield and it’s that man Ollie Dempsey again!

He kicks on the run from the right pocket and he has four.

Geelong has five in a row, and the lead is down to a slightly less painful 56 points.

Damien Hardwick would be getting a bit frustrated here.

Maybe the Suns are running out of puff a bit after going so hard for three quarters in this humidity.

Whatever it is, the Cats are not putting the cue in the rack here, and Brad Close gets the ball in the left forward pocket and swings it to the square where Ollie Dempsey leaps and takes a mark.

He kicks another!

Are the Suns taking their foot off the pedal here?

The Cats are still coming, and they get a free in midfield and run it quickly to space – Shannon Neale converts another, and that’s three straight goals to the visitors.

The lead is back to 67 points.

The Cats have made a solid start to the final term. They haven’t put their heads down and are still trying to pressure the Suns despite the scoreboard being well and truly gone.

A long kick inside 50 led to a free to Ollie Dempsey, with Zeke Uwland giving it away with some over-zealous attention.

Dempsey kicked his second. The lead is still 73 points.

Amid all that Suns attacking and goalscoring, there was a moment there in the third term where Mac Andrew decided to really go for a fly.

He went up a storey or two as the crowd roared, but he couldn’t hang on to the pill.

Have a look at the vision and ponder what might have been.

The siren goes and ends a second seven-goal quarter for the game for Gold Coast.

The Suns were solid favourites for this game, but I don’t know that anyone outside of one-eyed Gold Coast fans saw THIS coming.

The Suns have 56 inside 50s to three quarter time, 11 marks inside 50 and 13 tackles inside forward 50.

Can anyone say forward defensive pressure? The Cats have not been great, but this has been a very good performance from Gold Coast.

It’s kind of like a drop in the ocean, but Geelong has managed to get one back with a goal from Ollie Dempsey.

It’s just been so hard for the Cats to make ground up forward.

Not sure exactly Jeremy, but the biggest loss under Chris Scott at Geelong is a 110-point defeat by Sydney in 2014.

Regardless of exactly when it was last, it feels like we’re heading rapidly for a triple-figure result.

John Noble has just got on the end of another burst through the middle and the lead is out to 85 points.

It’s not even three quarter time.