Gold Coast could have easily packed it in when Ben Long was pinged for off-the-ball contact on Cody Weightman in Darwin.
The Western Bulldogs forward's gamesmanship in their clash last month sparked cries of milking, but resulted in a goal that put his side within one point of the Suns.
Minutes earlier, Ben Ainsworth had given away a dubious 50m penalty for overstepping the mark that led to another Bulldogs goal.
Hometown favourite Long, playing in front of a large group of family and friends at TIO Stadium, was furious.
But the 25-year-old St Kilda recruit wasn't allowed to dwell, fiercely snapped back to action by a defensive unit confidently marshalled by All-Australian smoky Charlie Ballard and vice-captain Sam Collins.
The Suns steadied to win by seven points and then ran down a fast-starting Adelaide a week later to complete an impressive fortnight in the Northern Territory.
"Yeah definitely, that was a huge moment for us," Long told AAP of his teammates' response to the Weightman goal.
"And there's been a few games like that where momentum has gone against us but we haven't changed our attitude or let the scoreboard get to us.
"Chuckie (Ballard) and Collo down there are our big boys and leaders. We all have our moments, but we're very connected and just go again and again."
"Collo's a hot head, but it's good for us. He's pretty ruthless and competitive and it's awesome to play with him."
Since their Darwin stay, the Suns have been thumped by Carlton and responded with a big win of their own against Hawthorn.
They are now 7-7 and just outside the top eight ahead of a tough run of games against Collingwood (first), Port Adelaide (second) and St Kilda (fifth).
The Suns have made a habit of falling away after their mid-year bye in recent seasons but the tricky trio of games isn't daunting Long, who has arrived after six years with St Kilda.
"Our best competes with the best and we've shown that earlier in the season," he said.
"In the past a fade out has happened; it's there in the background.
"But you look at how well we're training and putting that out on game day.
"We've got some good teams coming up, but we'll bring our game and go again."
