Gold Coast coach Damien Hardwick believes umpires paid crucial free kicks due to the Geelong crowd behaving like a "Roman Colosseum" in the Suns' thumping loss against the Cats.
The Suns gave up seven unanswered goals after leading by 12 points late in the first quarter at GMHBA Stadium on Friday night to slump to a third-straight defeat.
Rather than address Gold Coast's concerning form, that could have them sitting as low as 10th by the end of the round, Hardwick honed in on key umpiring decisions late in the second term.
The triple Richmond premiership coach exploded in the box when Geelong star Jeremy Cameron was awarded what Australian Football Hall of Fame legend Jason Dunstall described as two "reasonably soft" free kicks before halftime.
