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AAP
AAP
Justin Chadwick

Suns road hoodoo continues after defeat to Eagles

West Coast Eagles powerhouse Harley Reid runs the ball during the win over the Gold Coast Suns. (Richard Wainwright/AAP PHOTOS)

West Coast co-captain Liam Duggan has stepped up to kick an unlikely goal as the Eagles ended Gold Coast's finals hopes with a pulsating 10-point victory at Optus Stadium.

The Suns led by 23 points early in the third quarter and still held a two-point edge with just over three minutes remaining in Friday night's AFL match.

But in a dramatic finish, Duggan nailed a torpedo-style floater from a stoppage before Jamie Cripps converted an inside-out banana from the pocket to seal the 15.7 (97) to 13.9 (87) victory in front of 38,671 delirious fans.

The result extended Gold Coast's losing streak on the road to a club-record 16 matches.

Even more importantly, it means their finals hopes are over, with their 9-11 record leaving them too far behind the top eight with only three matches remaining.

Duggan, a defender by trade, had only kicked 14 goals in his previous 175 matches, and his match-winning major against Gold Coast will go down as a special moment in his career.

"It's not really my forte going down forward and being at those stoppages, but it came off at the right time," Duggan said.

"It didn't feel good off the boot. I'm not sure what sort of shape it was when it went through.

"To look up and see it go through was a nice feeling. It's those moments you play footy for."

Eagles forward Jake Waterman kicked a game-high four goals, while Tim Kelly (29 disposals and eight clearances) and Elliot Yeo (26 disposals, five clearances, 621m gained) were influential.

Although his numbers weren't huge, Harley Reid was a physical force throughout the match, finishing with 17 disposals, four clearances and six tackles, but he did give away seven free kicks.

Eagles defender Jeremy McGovern was a rock in defence.

Suns forward Ben King overcame some goalkicking yips to finish with three goals, while Ben Long and surprise forward Mac Andrew also kicked three goals.

Gold Coast midfielder Matt Rowell was arguably best afield with 30 disposals, 10 tackles and 11 clearances.

The opening quarter was a bruising affair that left multiple players requiring medical treatment.

West Coast captain Oscar Allen went down to the rooms to fix a dislocated finger.

King kicked two early behinds before being left bloodied and checking all of his teeth were in place after being crunched in a big marking contest.

The star forward was taken off for a concussion test but was cleared to return for the start of the second term.

Eagles defender Harry Edwards, who was flattened in the same marking contest, played on before being subbed off at quarter time with concussion.

Andrew kicked two goals in the first quarter to give his side a seven-point lead at the break.

The second quarter was an error-riddled affair, but a third goal to Andrew late in the term and a Jarrod Witts major after the siren from a tight angle gave the Suns a 17-point edge at the long break.

That margin edged out to 23 early in the third, but West Coast whittled it down to nine points by the final change before throwing everything at Gold Coast in a frenetic last quarter.

Duggan's floating snap with three minutes remaining gave West Coast the lead, before Cripps produced some magic near the pocket to secure victory.

"We just got belted in contested ball," Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick said.

"When the whips are cracking I thought their contest work both in the contest and outside the contest with their pressure was very strong and we fumbled and bumbled and just couldn't get clear."

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