There may be no place like home but life on the road is good again for Gold Coast after they held out Brisbane by five points in their AFL derby at the Gabba.
The Lions clawed their way back from a 27-point third-term deficit before Cameron Rayner had a chance to lock up the scores on the stroke of fulltime in front of 16,087 fans on Sunday.
However, he could only manage a behind as the Suns clung on 11.10 (76) to 10.11 (71) - just their third win in nine Queensland derbies at the Gabba.
It was a confidence boost for AFL nomads Gold Coast (3-2 record), who snapped a two-game losing run, including last round's 80-point thrashing by West Coast.
They are on a three-month road trip due to the Commonwealth Games and won't host their first game at Carrara until the round-11 clash with Geelong on June 2.
"We had to respond after last week and I think Brisbane did as well. It was a great game down to the last kick, almost a draw. Maybe that would have been fitting," Suns coach Stuart Dew said.
The Lions were just as desperate to win after last round's 93-point loss in which they registered a club record-equalling lowest 17 total points against Richmond.
While there was no sign of the Bad News Bears on Sunday, the Lions still have one thing in common with their luckless predecessor - Brisbane (0-5) haven't won a game this year.
Gold Coast's Touk Miller (21 touches) was magnificent, earning the Marcus Ashcroft Medal for best on ground.
His running battle with Brisbane's All-Australian Dayne Zorko was worth the price of admission alone but it was his desperate dive that spoiled a potential match-winning Jacob Allison goal with two minutes left which summed up his game.
"It may be round five but some of those moments are special and should be celebrated," Dew said of Miller's effort.
It took just 16 seconds for Brisbane to draw first blood through Lewis Taylor but back-to-back goals by Darcy MacPherson gave the Suns an 11-point lead by the first break.
The Suns had a 14 point halftime buffer despite MacPherson going down with an ankle injury and blew the deficit out to 27 early in the third.
But forward Eric Hipwood (three goals) and livewire Charlie Cameron (two goals, 18 touches) cut loose to reduce the lead to 15 points by the final break.
And when Hipwood booted his third goal midway through the fourth, the Gold Coast's lead was just four.
However, it wasn't to be for the luckless Lions as Rayner's late attempt sailed wide.
"He is disappointed but he shouldn't be. We had others who missed easier shots on the night," Lions coach Chris Fagan said of a shattered Rayner.
Australian Associated Press
