Tom Lynch and Sam Day have kicked 22 goals between them in the first six rounds to form a promising duo.
The absence of Charlie Dixon has inadvertently allowed Lynch and Day to be the focus for a side which has pumped the ball inside 50 more often than most.
Through six rounds, Gold Coast ranks fourth in the statistical category, averaging almost 55 per game despite two matches where it scored less than 50 points.
| Team | Total inside 50's - 2014 |
| Geelong | 334 |
| Port Adelaide | 331 |
| Hawthorn | 327 |
| Gold Coast | 325 |
It’s a far cry from each of the Suns’ last three seasons. They finished 16th (out of 17) in the count in their debut season of 2011, 17th (out of 18) in 2012, before what was a team high of 14th in 2013.
Interestingly enough, the increased inside 50 count hasn’t led to an efficient scoring attack just yet for Guy McKenna’s team. When looking at the scoring success once inside 50, the Suns rank 15th in the competition.
Of course this is extremely relevant to North Melbourne. A feature of the Kangaroos’ play so far this season has been its ability to defend opposition attacks.
| 2014 | Scores conceded per inside 50 | Goals conceded per inside 50 |
| North Melbourne | 33.7% | 16% |
| AFL rank | 2nd | 1st |
It’s been a large reason why the Roos were able to convincingly defeat Sydney and Fremantle despite giving up 66 and 55 inside 50’s in the two games respectively.
However Gold Coast was playing much the same way with its inside 50 entries when it met North Melbourne last season at Metricon Stadium, and it didn’t give the Suns any issues on that night.
The Suns had 66 inside 50’s on the way to winning by 15 points, and what North was unable to do was rebound. The Roos exited the Gold Coast 50 on 49 occasions at Metricon – 26 times it gifted the ball straight back to the opposition.
| Total rebound 50's | Retained possession | Led to stoppage | Opposition possession |
| 56 | 17 | 13 | 26 |
To illustrate just how different that was to a normal North Melbourne game in 2013, consider the following:
- Against Gold Coast the opposition gained possession from approximately 46 per cent of North’s rebound 50’s.
- During the 2013 season, opponents averaged a possession gain from approximately 31 per cent of North’s rebound 50’s.
So while the attention may be on the battle of the midfields at Etihad Stadium on Sunday, in fact it may be the duels inside Gold Coast's 50 which prove more important.
