Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew is hopeful his side's late rally against Collingwood on Saturday night will prove a "turning point" in the club's woeful AFL season.
The Suns looked down for the count early in the third term when the Magpies kicked the first three goals after half-time to extend their lead to 59 points.
It was threatening to devolve into yet another ritual bloodbath at Metricon Stadium.
But even Dew seemed surprised with the way they responded mid-quarter, wrestling back the momentum from one of the competition's hottest teams and kicking the next four goals in the match to destroy Collingwood's hopes of a big percentage-boosting result.
The Suns were still beaten by 39 points in the end but the fightback was a welcome sign of life from a team, and a club, which are fighting to prove they are not a worthless cause.
"That last 40 minutes, I just spoke to the players then about the style of footy we'd love to play in terms of pressure and trying to move the ball," Dew said.
"Hopefully it's a turning point for the footy club.
"After they kicked the first three goals in the third quarter, the response was impressive. We're sitting there going, 'OK, we'll find out how they feel about each other.'
"We did still turn the ball over but the heart that they showed and the passion for each other was really there. There was a lot to like."
Even Magpies coach Nathan Buckley was moved to pay them a compliment.
"I thought the Suns played really well from the get-go... their energy and intensity around the ball was good," he said.
Gold Coast's losing streak now stands at nine games, which is the third-worst in the club's short history.
However, Dew believes their performance was proof that better times are only just around the corner.
"We'll keep working and look forward to the game when we really get reward for our effort, because our guys tried their heart out," he said.
"That's a seriously good footy club we played tonight and we had the game on our terms for a fair bit but weren't able to hit the scoreboard."
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