THE Gold Coast Suns certainly notched up their first win the hard way, coming back from a deficit of 40 points and then having to wait in agony as Port’s Justin Westhoff had a chance to spoil the day for the Suns.

Thankfully his shot after the siren sailed wide.

It certainly eases the pressure on the Suns; they have been under the pump from all sections of the media, and certainly unfairly for a team that is just three games old and has had 18 players make their debut this season.

One man with a smile on his face would be Karmichael Hunt, who made a critical spoil in the last minute of the game to deny Daniel Motlop a goal opportunity.

He has certainly taken some giant strides since his VFL debut last season.

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The Suns won’t have long to savour their maiden victory as they head to Melbourne on Sunday to take on Essendon.

The Bombers really took it up to Collingwood on ANZAC Day and continue to earn the respect of the football world.

Speaking of ANZAC Day, there continues to be debate as to whether Collingwood and Essendon have exclusive rights to play on this special occasion.

It has been a tradition in the game since 1995, and I don’t see any reason to change this.

Perhaps the AFL could play a game in each state on this day, as has been previously suggested.

Maybe the Clash between the Brisbane Lions and Gold Coast Suns next year?

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North Melbourne’s season took a savage blow on Sunday with a nine-point loss to Richmond leaving it without a win after five rounds.

The Roos have had a tough start to the season, with two trips to Perth and a long injury list, but they would have pencilled in wins against the Tigers and Eagles (Round 1 lost by 4 points) as they strived to improve on last years ninth place finish.

A lot of experts had the Roos pushing for a finals berth this year, but it seems a remote possibility.

Full credit to the Tigers, who have had a miserable couple of seasons, but it seems there is light at the end of the tunnel for long suffering supporters.

Names like Cotchin, Martin and Conca are going to be household names in a couple of seasons.

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Fremantle and Geelong have both gone quietly about their business and attracting little fanfare.

The Cats have posted two interstate victories and overcame a dogged Hawks outfit to remain unbeaten, whilst the

Dockers, notorious for their inability to win interstate, have also posted two away victories and would be unbeaten barring a narrow loss to the Cats.

The Dockers win over the Western Bulldogs on Monday night was testament to the growing maturity of the group, coming from 7 points down deep in the last quarter.