Gold Coast put in a big second half to win by four goals against Fremantle at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.

Here’s some of the points worth noting from the round 18 loss.

Penetrating ball-use

Ross Lyon has, in recent times, spoken of his team’s need to play with penetration. Though shaky in the opening term, Fremantle linked play through the corridor and delivered the ball inside 50 with purpose. As a consequence, the likes of Walters, Yarran and Taberner were able to battle one-on-one with their direct opponents.

Shane Yarran’s debut

The 27-year-old looked at home on debut, with two goals, 10 disposals and four marks.  Yarran was slow to start, but found his feet applying pressure across across half-forward. The reigning Bernie Naylor medallist showed composure with ball in hand and looked promising inside 50, with a high-flying attempt in the second quarter capping off his afternoon.  

Ed Langdon’s return

The wingman showed promising signs against the Demons a fortnight ago before a minor hamstring strain cut his return short. This week he put in a career-best performance, amassing 23 possessions, five marks and two goals through the midfield and half-forward. Langdon was able to find space in the corridor and used his pace and endurance to break the lines at regular intervals.

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Collins’ courage

With the match in the balance deep in the third quarter, Sam Collins threw himself into oncoming traffic to affect a spoil. He was subsequently crunched by the 199cm, 98kg frame of Tom Lynch. The key defender manned up on Peter Wright and provided an option out of defence with 20 possessions and six marks.

Bright signs for Suns’ key position stocks

Lynch’s impact this season has been widely documented, but it was his tall teammates who did the early damage on Saturday afternoon. Key-position utility Sam Day, who recently signed a contract extension, was deployed into attack and kicked a career-high four goals. Tall defender Steven May played well opposed to Matt Taberner, Rory Thompson spoiled well and two-metre Wright (three goals) was impressive.