IT HAS been a tough couple of seasons for Gold Coast in the AFL Women’s. After finishing 17th in season 2024 and replacing coach Cam Joyce with Rhyce Shaw, the Suns have suffered an extensive injury list over the preseason and even in the last few weeks. Despite suffering some tough losses, Shaw’s side finally had a reason to smile, defeating fellow winless side GWS Giants by 19 points.

The match was a bottom two battle between two 0-3 sides who had copped a rough start to the year, Gold Coast none more so than a record-breaking 68-point defeat to Port Adelaide in Round 3. Though they only held the record for less than 24 hours, the Power’s score of 16.12 (108) was the highest in AFLW history to that point.

Gold Coast lost defenders Charlotte Wilson and Meara Girvan mid-game, while midfielder Charlie Rowbottom bravely battled through an AC joint injury in her shoulder. All three players were ‘outs’ from a side already struggling for numbers and having to field a stack of teenagers – albeit incredibly talented ones – which meant the Suns had an experience gap on the opposition.

However in a pleasing moment for the home fans and Shaw’s team, the Suns defied the odds and came away with the 7.10 (52) to 4.9 (33) victory at People First Stadium. The coach said it had been a “big week” for the footy club with the men’s side reaching its first ever finals series, and he was pleased the women’s team could grab the four points for the first time in season 2025.

“We’ve had our struggles at the start of the year, some of it our own doing, some of it not,” Shaw said. “But I felt as though, especially in the first three quarters, we played a brand of footy that we’ve been looking for and what we wanted to see. It was really good to see the girls go out there and execute that. We had a really strong plan, and we knew what we wanted to do, and we did that really well.”

Shaw had to really shuffle the magnets, making four changes to the 21 from the week before and one of those included moving rebound defender Niamh McLaughlin to replace Rowbottom’s size around the ball.

“We made a few changes, we put Niamh in the middle as a bit of a cover for Charlie, and it’s obviously risky doing that because she’s such a great rebound defender for us,” Shaw said. “But the plan that we went into the game we thought was really working in that first three quarters, and the girls did a great job so we know what we want to do in each of those areas and they just stepped in and did their role.

“She loves playing in midfield because she’s that bit closer to the goals, and she loves a goal.”

Unfortunately the win was soured by more injuries, with experienced forward Jamie Stanton (six per cent game time) and first-year speedster Nyalli Milne (36 per cent) both going down with injuries. It meant rotations were short, and the likes of ruck inclusion Lauren Bella had to spend 85 per cent of the time on the ground, while wingers Mia Salisbury and Ellie Veerhuis – both in their first seasons – had to dig deep in the circumstances.

“I don’t want to discount anything, but we all played our parts and that’s really important,” Shaw said. “The first three quarters looked like what we’d been training through preseason and looked like the brand of footy we want to play moving forward. Obviously we were hindered by injuries and had to adjust in the game, but the girls did a great job.

“Our kids who are playing in their first year like Mia and Ellie had to play big game time on the wing and just get it done, and they did a great job. We’re finding opportunities to learn and grow in the midst of all this chaos, but it’s great to see some reward for the girls.”

As for what the win meant the side considering the 0-3 start to the season, Shaw said it was “something to build on”.

“It’s been a hard start to the year, but I think we’re starting to learn what it takes and this is just a small step in that direction and we’re on a journey together as a group, and as a footy club and we’ve got to make sure that we learn from this, and grow from this and take that into next week,” Shaw said. “Because next week’s really important as well.”

Gold Coast takes on fifth placed Carlton at Ikon Park next Saturday from 2:35pm, with the Blues holding a 3-1 win-loss ledger in season 2025.