With the expansion clubs meeting for the ninth time on Saturday afternoon, it’s time to look at the stats that may be the difference between the GIANTS and the Suns once the final siren sounds.
Both sides will be hungry to gain supremacy over each other at Metricon Stadium, as they sit locked at four wins each from their previous eight meetings.
When they last met in round eight at Spotless Stadium this year the GIANTS were dominant, recording a club record 91-point win.
On that occasion Jeremy Cameron was the star key forward kicking a club record equaling seven goals.
Cameron has a bit of a love affair with Gold Coast, having kicked 25 goals in the eight clashes between these sides.
This time around the attention will be on Suns key forward Tom Lynch, who is sitting third in the race for the Coleman Medal with 57 goals this season.
Earlier this week Brisbane Lions legend Jonathan Brown boldly declared the Gold Coast spearhead as the the best player in the AFL.
With glowing compliments like that the GIANTS defenders will have to keep a watchful eye on Lynch if they are to quell his influence on proceedings.
The stats back up Brown’s claim with Lynch the best in the AFL for inside-50 targets and second in the competition for one-on-one contests.
Lynch isn’t the only Suns target up forward with fellow talls Sam Day and Peter Wright both posing major aerial threats.
Gold Coast often exploit these targets on the rebound from defensive 50, using their pacey midfield of Callum Ah Chee, Jarrod Garlett and Jarrad Grant.
They are the second best counter-attacking team in the competition, moving the ball from defensive 50 to attacking 50 an amazing 17 times in their match against St Kilda in round 15.
Incredibly they have been doing this all while missing a host of their first choice midfielders in Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia, David Swallow, Jaeger O’Meara and Aaron Hall.
They may find it tougher this week as the GIANTS remain the number one ranked side for inside-50s in 2016 (58.2 a game) and are ranked sixth for marks inside 50.
Suns’ key defenders Stephen May and Rory Thompson will need to do their upmost to bring the ball to ground if they are to implement their strong rebounding style of play.
Touk Miller has had to step up and has been one of the Suns’ outstanding players over the past month, averaging 25 disposals per game.
The GIANTS need to be wary of Gold Coast’s improved tackling pressure over the last couple of weeks, with the Suns committing 85 more tackles than their previous two opponents.
With a host of midfield names out for the Suns, they’ve reinvented Alex Sexton as a tagger with great effect.
The 22-year-old has limited the influence of Fremantle on-baller Stephen Hill and Melbourne’s Nathan Jones in recent weeks.
Despite being without Dylan Shiel this week, the GIANTS will be looking to exploit the Suns’ young midfielder around the clearances.
The GIANTS are ranked first in the competition with 40.9 clearance per game, compared to the Suns' 32.9 a game, which ranks them last.
The GIANTS take on the Suns at Metricon Stadium at 4.35pm on Saturday afternoon.
