Geelong will be looking for a strong response as they return home this weekend, but the challenge does not get any easier with a strong Gold Coast outfit set to visit on Friday night at GMHBA Stadium. 

Both teams have lost their last two games and will be keen to return to the winners' list, the Cats are still hanging on to a spot in the top four with two games remaining before their mid-season bye. 

The Suns have slipped into seventh position on the ladder but they have had Geelong's measure in recent outings, winning three of the last four clashes between the sides by an average winning margin of 46 points. 

Geelong and Gold Coast met earlier this year in the Opening Round, with the Suns comfortably prevailing by 56 points to commence the campaign, giving the Cats plenty to work on heading into Friday night's match. 

Take a look through some of Gold Coast's strengths ahead of another monumental clash, proudly presented by Deakin University. 

2026 Ladder 

Geelong: 4th (8-5)
Gold Coast: 7th (7-5)

Recent Games

2026, Opening Round - Gold Coast 19.11 (125) def Geelong 10.9 (69)
2025, Round 13 - Geelong 9.7 (61) def Gold Coast 5.7 (37)
2024, Round 10 - Gold Coast 26.8 (164) def Geelong 15.10 (100)

Deakin Performance Stat of the Week 

Stopping the Suns' Ball Movement

Gold Coast have proven to be one of the most dynamic and damaging teams in the competition when it comes to ball movement, not needing to amass mountains of possessions in order to continually ask questions of opposition defensive units. 

To this point of the 2026 season, the Suns rank in the top two teams in the competition for metres gained, metres gained per disposal, metres gained per kick and metres gained per handball, while also ranking first for kicking retention rate. 

They manage all of this despite ranking 11th in the AFL for total disposals, showing that they prefer to make the most of their possessions and continually look to move the ball forward at all costs. 

Gold Coast also rank fourth for transitions from defensive 50 to forward 50 and third for defensive half to forward 50, holding a 7-0 record in games this year where they have recorded more kicking metres gained than their opponent, and an 0-5 record in games where they had less. 

In the Opening Round clash, the Suns bested the Cats in the kicking battle, disposal count and inside 50s, comfortably winning the kicking metres gained (+807) which will be something Geelong will be looking to rectify on Friday night. 

Gold Coast's Team Stats

Who Takes the Coleman Medal Leader?

While Gold Coast boast a multi-pronged attack, there is no doubting that the focal point of their offence is Ben King. 

King has kicked 38 goals for the year and sits three clear on top of the Coleman Medal leaderboard, averaging more than three goals per game in 2026. 

But what is remarkable is his efficiency with ball in hand, totalling 38 goals and 57 score involvements from just 88 total disposals this year, kicking a goal with nearly every second disposal. 

King is also a towering presence in aerial contests, sitting in the AFL's top 10 for marks inside 50 and able to take marks on the lead, something Geelong have struggled to nullify against similar players like Mitch Georgiades and Jack Gunston this year. 

Using the Ball Cleanly

The Suns thrive on turnovers, ranked as the third best team in the AFL for scores from turnover (57.5 per game) to this point of the 2026 season. 

It is comfortably their number one scoring source, sitting sixth in the competition for intercept possessions and fourth for intercept marks. 

The statistic has also proven to be important for Geelong, averaging +26.75 points from turnovers in their eight wins this year and -15.0 in their five losses. 

The Cats went at 66.1% disposal efficiency against Adelaide last week, their second lowest percentage in 2026 which is something they will be looking to clean up on Friday.