Belinda Smith a shining light for West Coast Eagles as Gold Coast Suns produce remarkable comeback

Dashing Pingrup defender Belinda Smith was again a shining light for the West Coast Eagles in their 13-point loss to the Gold Coast Suns in round two of the AFLW at Whitten Oval on Sunday.

The Eagles suffered their second straight loss to start the new season, as Gold Coast stormed home in the final quarter to end an 11-game losing streak.

Smith was outstanding across half-back in front of more than 500 people.

Denmark’s Parris Laurie also took to the field for the Eagles while Albany’s Sophie McDonald was an emergency for the second week in a row.

Smith finished the match with 16 disposals, 12 intercepts, five marks and two tackles, four rebound 50s and three hard ball gets.

The Eagles booted two unanswered goals in the second term to lead by two points at the main break before the Suns held a narrow two-point advantage going into the last term after booting the only goal of the third stanza.

However, the Eagles looked set to break the game apart in the final quarter with three quick goals from Mikayla Bowen, Kellie Gibson and Maddy Collier on the back of some sharp overlap run.

But the Suns would not go away as Kate Surman and Tara Bohanna stood tall with two and three goals respectively in a wild final seven minutes.

The Suns prevailed 7.4 (46) to 5.3 (33) to snatch an unlikely victory.

The Eagles and Fremantle have hit the road for a string of matches interstate, with both clubs going into a bubble in Melbourne in a bid to avoid COVID-19.

Smith was named in the AFLW Team of the Week.