GOLD Coast Suns responded to a frustrating Round 1 loss in the best way possible, thrashing West Coast by 73 points back at home yesterday.

It was all thanks to a first half scoring blitz which saw the Suns score their highest ever total by half-time, and just kept going from there.

It was not just from one source either, with plenty of different forwards getting in on the action, including Jamie Stanton (four first half goals), Jacqui Dupuy (three first half goals) and Tara Bohanna (one first half goal).

There were a number of factors that allowed the Suns to go on such a scoring rampage and improve so much on last week, so let us take a deep dive into some of those components.

Uncontested Game

One area that Gold Coast really struggled, particularly early last week, was getting free of congestion and getting its running game going.

This was not the same yesterday, as the likes of Alison Drennan and Claudia Whitfort really able to get some run out of the middle and get plenty of inside 50s for their team.

For much of the first half Gold Coast was able to get that run and carry with very little West Coast resistance, which allowed Gold Coast’s tall forwards plenty of chances to mark the ball and make it count on the scoreboard.

Inside 50 Efficiency

Another component of Gold Coast’s game last week that was poor was their inside 50 efficiency.

As shown in the table below, Gold Coast’s efficiency rose significantly in both the first and second quarter yesterday compared to the respective quarters back in Round 1.

This correlates to an uptake in both the number of scoring shots, but also how accurate they were. Dupuy, Bohanna, Stanton and others were all able to get plenty of marks and plenty of chances to score.

Marks Inside 50

One area that also improved from last week to this week was the marks inside 50.

With the increase in the number of inside 50s (25 in the first half this week compared to only 18 last week) and the way Gold Coast’s forward line structure is, if the Suns can increase their marks inside 50 tally, they are always going to get more chances to score.

Claudia Whitford and Jamie Stanton

Two players that really stood up this week compared to last week were Whitfort and Stanton.

Not neccessarily one of the biggest names in the Suns’ line-up, Whitfort flies under the radar at times, but with her clearance ability and at times kicks that are pushing 40m in length, opposition cannot afford to forget about her if they want to win. Whitfort had 20 disposals in the first half yesterday and created a lot of run and feed inside 50.

Stanton on the other hand made a huge impact up forward despite not seeing too much of the ball. Last week she finished the game with five disposals and only one goal, but by half-time yesterday she had already eclipsed that disposal count, and quadrupled her goal tally.