EVERY footballer dreams of winning a game with a kick after the final siren, but few get the opportunity.
Zac Smith had his chance on Saturday and made no mistake.
A 40m kick from the Gold Coast ruckman had just enough elevation to make it across the point line and give the Gold Coast a dramatic 13.12 (90) to 13.11 (89) victory over the Bendigo Bombers at Cazlays.
The thrilling finale put an exclamation point on an extraordinary fightback from the Gold Coast, who looked set for a thrashing after trailing by five goals at quarter-time.
Gold Coast coach Guy McKenna said his players had showed commendable resolve to win the game after such a poor start.
"For the boys to experience what they did today and then to come out on top was really a message about belief for them," he said.
"We are good enough if we want to be good enough. Technically, we’re good enough but you need to be able to believe in yourself to be able to take these sides on."
The Gold Coast were completely outplayed by the Bombers in the first two quarters.
It looked a case of boys versus men as the Bombers’ midfield commanded the centre of the park, giving Karmichael Hunt and his Gold Coast teammates in the backline plenty of work to do.
Playing only his fourth game of VFL, Hunt looked like a footballer still learning his craft as he struggled to have any type of influence on proceedings.
While Hunt did not have a kick all afternoon, there was no doubting his or the Gold Coast’s commitment after halftime.
Producing fewer shanked kicks and errant handballs, the Gold Coast moved to within 10 points of the lead after outscoring the Bombers seven goals to two in the third quarter.
Urged on by the 3500-strong crowd, the Gold Coast carried their domination into the last term.
Midfielder Maverick Weller was outstanding. The young Tasmanian was the chief possession-getter in the final 20 minutes and was the architect of many of his team’s scoring opportunities.
Majors to Todd Grayson and Alik Magin gave the Gold Coast the lead nine minutes into the final quarter before hometown hero Charlie Dixon made his mark on the game.
The 200cm centre-half forward muscled his way into the contest and kicked two crucial goals midway through the term.
Dixon said the victory showed the character of the Gold Coast side.
"To come out and never give up and come back how we did and get the win in the end was unreal," he said. "It felt like a home game for us. To have that supporter base up here is unreal and I’d love for us to come up here again."
