Gold Coast are the AFL’s cardiac kids, beating the Western Bulldogs by six points on Sunday at Marvel Stadium.

The 10.12 (73) to 9.14 (68) win is the third-straight Suns game decided by a goal or less.

They lost to St Kilda by one point in round one and beat Fremantle last week by three points.

Gold Coast led from the start and held on grimly as the Bulldogs kicked the last two goals of the match.

After kicking a goal earlier in the final term, Billy Gowers had a set shot with a minute 20 seconds left to tie the scores.

His kick from a 45 degree angle went wide and it was the Bulldogs’ last score.

Universally tipped pre-season as this year’s basket cases, the Suns have started impressively and it’s the first loss for the Bulldogs.

Alex Sexton starred in his 100th game and Suns teammate Jack Martin was also outstanding, while Bulldogs midfield ace Marcus Bontempelli had a game-high 34 disposals.

The Suns dominated the centre clearances early and put the Bulldogs under immediate pressure, kicking four goals in 15 minutes for a 24-point lead.

Jarrod Witts was strong from the start in the ruck, while Martin and Chris Burgess were causing headaches for the Bulldogs defence.

The Bulldogs rallied with two goals late in the opening term, but were 24 down at quarter time.

Players repeatedly turned the ball over despite the perfect conditions and clearly struggled with the sun glare as the stadium roof was kept open.

After a strong opening quarter, it was the Suns’ turn to feel the heat as the Bulldogs repeatedly went into attack.

Two goals reduced the margin to nine points, but the Dogs were struggling to find fluency in attack.

Inevitably, a Gold Coast counter-attack paid off and captain David Swallow kicked a crucial goal.

Summing up the Bulldogs’ day, Ed Richards was running into an open goal when the halftime siren beat him by a second.

Swallow also kicked Gold Coast’s only goal of the third quarter as they kept the Bulldogs at arm’s length and took a 19-point lead into the last term.