It’s nearly 10 years to the day since AFL champion Gary Ablett Jnr infamously endured a season-ending injury against Collingwood, which inadvertently marked the beginning of the end for Gold Coast’s first ever legitimate finals runs.
Since that fateful day, the Suns are still yet to make their mark in September; and in the strangest of ways, are still yet to progress further than they were the week after Ablett’s injury.
But a decade later, the Suns now face the Magpies in the same round, at the same venue, in the same time slot, with an identical stake on the line – finals.
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Having only beaten Collingwood once (Round 7, 2021) since their 2014 battle, the Magpies have become a bogey team for the red and yellow.
But for the Gold Coast faithful, it is perhaps an omen that they will be experiencing déjà vu this weekend; only a few wins off an elusive finals campaign.
And are they now more primed than ever for further success this time around?
10 years ago, the Pies sat sixth on the ladder after 15 rounds, travelling to what was then known as Metricon Stadium – up against a seemingly emerging Suns outfit that had sat in eighth on the ladder for four weeks straight; somewhat of a reward for their strong start to the season, but also a reflection of poor percentage.
Gold Coast had been a constant in the top eight since Round 5, and even reached as high as third at the end of Round 10 – a show of how high they actually rose towards the halfway mark of the year.
The likeness of personnel from both sides from a decade ago to now is ever so slightly uncanny; which makes sense, given the crossover of several players who have been on the scene ever since the Suns’ inception into the competition.
Inaugural players David Swallow and Sam Day that played in the infamous 2014 match will line up today for Hardwick’s side, as will Alex Sexton.
At the Pies, stalwarts Scott Pendlebury and Steele Sidebottom are the only duo remaining at Collingwood who played that same match – with Pendlebury remarkably having played in every single AFL match between the two sides since Gold Coast’s founding.
In fact, in Gold Coast’s first ever outing against Collingwood, Pendlebury (34 disposals, two goals) and Sidebottom (22 disposals, two goals) having an absolute day out on the inexperienced side.
And fascinatingly, Suns ruck Jarrod Witts is the sixth and final player set to play in both 2014 and today’s match; although in 2014 he did it as a Magpie before flying north to the Suns at the end of 2016.
It was a different game a decade ago, but Gold Coast truly were in the hunt for finals in just their fourth year in the AFL.
While heavily reliant on the superstar that was Ablett, they had managed to surprise everybody with their start to 2014.
Retrospectively looking back on that season’s Brownlow night, Ablett polled a whopping 22 votes in 15 games before his injury – 1.47 votes a match.
So in-form was Ablett, that would have needed just four votes in seven games to clinch the individual accolade from eventual winner Matt Priddas, had he not been injured.
It is the perfect metric for just how good a form ‘The Little Master’ was in, but equally, how big a loss he was for then-coach Guy McKenna and his side.
Succumbing to a whipping tackle from tagger Brent Macaffer, Ablett braced for impact and dislocated his left shoulder.
The two-time Brownlow Medallist avoided any bone damage, but made the tough decision to undergo reconstructive surgery and end his season.
Despite the Suns going on to win the match in which Ablett injured himself by five points – without the eight-time All-Australian, their hopes beyond Round 16, 2014 faded rapidly.
The very next week, a 28-point loss to the Bulldogs up in Cairns’ Cazaly Stadium started their downfall; going on to lose six of their last seven matches to close out the season in 12th place with a club-record 10 wins – but two victories and percentage outside the top eight.
Ever since, only their 2022 season has reaped similar results – where they finished with the same number of wins in the same spot on the ladder as 2014.
And now, it’s felt like Groundhog Day for nearly 14 years to the most loyal of Suns fans.
The luxury of booking holidays when other can’t in September has worn thin, and with arguably their best-ever list since their establishment, the time is now.
And much like Round 16, 2014 against Collingwood – this reinstalment of the clash and beyond will decide the finals fate of both sides, particularly that of Damien Hardwick’s men.
Their list retention has always been an issue on the Gold Coast, given the somewhat-remote location and not a huge amount of home-grown talent.
Their struggles with losing future stars are well-documented, with Jaeger O’Meara (Fremantle), Tom Lynch (Richmond), Dion Prestia (Richmond), Steven May (Melbourne), Jack Martin (Carlton) and Charlie Dixon (Port Adelaide) all leaving to opposition clubs in the last decade.
But now, it certainly at least feels like the club has locked away more valuable talent – and with more players likely to stay loyal given their ties to the club’s Academy, if anything they look the better version of their 2014 selves.
With the likes of Wil Powell, Bailey Humphrey, Ethan Read, Ned Moyle and Joel Jeffrey all committed to the club for at least four more years, you get the sense that the higher profile players are likely to extend sooner rather than later.
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Ben King, Jack Lukosius and Jed Walter are all signed until the end of 2026, while Noah Anderson, Sam Flanders and Touk Miller have it in writing that they don’t plan on leaving before 2027 comes to an end.
The foundations are there for the Suns to genuinely become a competition powerhouse, but so far, it’s been all bark and no bite.
A win this evening against Collingwood is the penultimate step; with one more win in a row beyond that giving them the label as a genuine finals contender.
A loss, and it’s likely pundits will call time on Gold Coast this season, given they are still yet to win away from home and subsequently, cannot afford to lose on their own turf.
Fans are buying into the idea too, with a packed People First Stadium confirmed for the clash.
A decade later from Ablett shouldering the load on the Gold Coast, the Suns have been presented a rare second chance to make the most against a powerhouse Collingwood.
We’ve seen the potential ending before, but will the rivalries second instalment be better than the first?