The Western Bulldogs have recorded their maiden victory at their second home in Ballarat, edging out a stalwart Gold Coast outfit by nine points in blustery conditions.
Although down at every change, the Dogs managed to push past the Suns in the final stages of the last quarter, bringing their record of 3-4 on par with that of their opposition.
Jack Macrae produced yet another blinder which will undoubtedly fly under the radar, culminating 40 disposals and 12 clearances amid a Bulldog outfit absent of several key players.
The Bulldogs were dealt a massive blow before the match had even begun, with star Marcus Bontempelli a late withdrawal following a hip complaint.
With the absence of their stand-in skipper, Bontempelli, along with that of their captain Easton Wood - again through injury - the Dogs needed to make a statement.
It came early with a major from Josh Dunkley, but it would end up being the only six-pointer kicked by the red, white and blue for the entire term as the Suns rose to the occasion.
Far superior on their attack on the ball, Gold Coast outshone their opposition through their tackles - 9-22 in the first quarter - and pressure in all areas of the ground, leaving the sluggish Dogs far behind.
But with a strong wind pushing across the ground, the margin did little to reflect the Suns' intensity, nor the Bulldogs' ineffectual term.
Both sides struggled to acclimatise to the conditions, missing targets, misjudging kicks and ultimately failing to put the ball through the big sticks, resulting in a low-scoring 1.2 to 2.6 term.
Yet with five more shots on goal - and two all-important majors to Steven Day and Aaron Young - the Suns took an early 10-point lead at quarter-time, as the Dogs struggled to overcome their slow start to the game.
It didn't look like the situation would improve for the the Bulldogs, with a Jack Martin goal in the opening minutes of the second term continuing the Suns' unchallenged ascendancy.
Unable to match their opposition's intensity and grunt around the ball, the Bulldogs' stagnant movement and lack of spark allowed the Suns to cruise over their opposition through their tackling pressure and aggressive stoppage work.
But even with morale down and the crowd becoming restless, the Bulldogs managed to remain just in the contest, before suddenly turning the tables midway through the term with a four-goal blitz.
As majors to Jason Johannisen and Billy Gowers reinvigorated Luke Beveridge's men, Patrick Lipinski kept the momentum going with back-to-back goals to put the Bulldogs in front for the first time since the opening quarter.
Yet the lead was brief, with Gold Coast snuffing out the Dogs' spark courtesy of a goal from first-gamer, Charlie Ballard, mere moments later.
As Day slotted his second with four seconds left on the clock, the Dogs once again left the field demoralised, trailing by four points at the long break.
Once again the Suns would only continue their surge going into the third term, with debutante turned cult hero, Brayden Crossley, chiming in with his first league goal.
Even with Jarrod Witts (58 hit-outs) well on top of the ruck contests, the Bulldog midfield - spearheaded by Macrae, Luke Dahlhaus and Toby McLean - were far too fluent at the clearances.
Macrae was nothing short of prolific, gathering the ball nine times, booting a goal and directly assisting Mitch Honeychurch and Lin Jong majors; all within the space of a 10-minute purple patch.
Despite Macrae's dominance, the Suns managed to sneak in two goals late through Alex Sexton and Touk Miller, clinching the lead by a narrow three points.
As the Bulldogs began to wrestle the momentum their way, three close misses brought the scores level once again before Tim English was rewarded with a goal from their 14th entry inside 50 for the quarter.
Although the Suns hit back with two of their own and a strong midfield effort from David Swallow, it wasn't enough as the Bulldogs rectified their slow opening to the match with a fiery finish, ending the term with seven more shots on goal.
Finding dare through the centre of the ground and subsequently capitalising on the scoreboard, the Dogs outlasted their gutsy opposition.
With Macrae still running rampant in the final minutes of the game, Gowers slotted the sealer in the match's waning minutes to rule the Suns out of leaping into ninth position on the ladder.
The Western Bulldogs will return to Etihad Stadium on Saturday night against Brisbane, while Gold Coast will once again be away from home when they host Melbourne at the 'Gabba on Saturday afternoon.
WESTERN BULLDOGS 1.2 5.5 8.7 11.15 (81) GOLD COAST 2.6 5.9 8.10 10.12 (72)
GOALS Western Bulldogs: Lipinski 2, Gowers 2, Dunkley, Johannisen, Jong, Honeychurch, Macrae, English, Williams Gold Coast: Day 2, Young 2, Martin 2, Ballard, Crossley, Sexton, Miller
BEST Western Bulldogs: Macrae, Johannisen, Hunter, Dahlhaus, Naughton Gold Coast: Miller, Ainsworth, Martin, Harbrow, Witts, Swallow
INJURIES Western Bulldogs: Bontempelli (hip, replaced in selected side by Honeychurch) Gold Coast: Nil
TALKING POINTS
1. SKIPPER-LESS SIDES STILL HAVE HEROES
With both sides' captains missing through injury, on-field leaders were desperately needed for the Bulldogs and the Suns.
The two teams ultimately delivered, and although the presence of their captains would have been a huge advantage,
Lachie Hunter was unexpectedly handed the reins after fill-in skipper, Marcus Bontempelli, was a late out with a hip complaint.
The 23-year-old and recent addition to the Bulldogs' leadership group performed superbly, finishing with 34 touches and four clearances, being one of the best afield.
Aaron Naughton too was solid in defence in the absence of his skipper, Easton Wood, while his Gold Coast counterpart in Rory Thompson admirable in the absence of Steven May.
Unfortunately for the Suns, the gaping hole of co-captain Tom Lynch up forward proved to be too big to fill, despite the efforts of talls Sam Day and Jack Martin, alongside the solid performance of acting captain, David Swallow.
2. AN UNSUNG ELITE
This season, the midfield royalty of Nat Fyfe, Dustin Martin and Tom Mitchell have been at the forefront of all attention.
But there's another name who is pushing for contention among the 2018 midfield elite, and that name is Jackson Macrae.
Averaging 32 disposals per game, Macrae ranks above Fyfe (31) and Martin (25) and is second only to Mitchell's impressive figures (36).
Another unacknowledged 40-disposal game - his second at Mars Stadium - coupled with 25 contested possessions and 12 clearances prove not only the young Dog is an under-celebrated star for the , but in the 2018 season.
Hopefully Macrae gets the attention and praise he deserves soon.
3. LIFE ON MARS
Initially, there appeared to be no sign of life anywhere at Mars Stadium, with the 6,833 supporters barely making a sound as the Dogs got swamped early in the piece.
With the free kick count standing at 1-14 in the early stages of the second term and the Dogs failing to kick into gear, there wasn't much for the home crowd to get excited about.
But as the Bulldogs turned it around with four quickfire goals in the second term, the Ballarat faithful roared to life.
With one more game left to play this season against Port Adelaide in round 19, the clash against the Bulldogs and Suns confirms there is in fact life on Mars.
And more importantly, football can exist away from the larger stadiums.
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