Gold Coast won its final game of the home and away season, but left the field shattered after letting slip the double chance in the finals.
The Suns needed a solid win to boost their percentage sufficiently to replace Carlton in fourth spot after the Blues’ win over Brisbane on Saturday.
But instead their 9.8 (62) to 7.11 (53) victory at Henson Park left them just 0.2 percentage points behind Carlton.
GWS could be proud of its efforts, having fought hard before a home crowd to send off the retiring Alicia Eva and Isabel Huntington at their final game.
Eva was an inaugural AFLW player 10 years ago with Collingwood and served as the Giants’ captain for five years.
Huntington was a number one draft pick and All-Australian, though three separate ACL injuries plagued her six-year career.
It seemed it was going to be a walk in the park for the Suns, who dominated the first half around the stoppage and in midfield and led the clearances 16-10 thanks to Charlie Rowbottom and Lucy Single, who had five each.
But the Giants came out with a bang in the third quarter.
They led disposals 68–46 and converted from eight of their 10 entries inside-50, kept the Suns scoreless and took an 11-point lead before the final term.
Rowbottom did everything she could in the fourth quarter to claw back the lead and kicked a goal in the dying minutes to put the Suns back in front.
She ended with 33 disposals, two goals and 12 clearances, but didn’t have much to celebrate after the Suns’ ninth win of the season.
“Obviously we’re happy to get away with the four points, but I wanted to finish fourth,” Rowbottom said post-game.
“We’ll take the long way home.”
Meanwhile, Essendon’s 4.14 (38) to 4.7 (31) win over Collingwood handed outgoing Bombers coach Natalie Wood one last win and Pies boss Sam Wright one final loss.
AAP
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