Ablett's calming words to Hunt

NRL convert Karmichael Hunt has revealed star skipper Gary Ablett's calming words steadied him before he kicked the winning goal after the siren against Richmond as Gold Coast snapped a 21-game losing streak.

In what was surely Hunt's most telling contribution since his daring code switch, the Suns booted three goals in time-on to snatch an enthralling two-point win at Cairns' Cazaly's Stadium.

Hunt was the beneficiary of Brandon Matera's squaring kick inside the last five seconds and, after some nervy moments, went back to slot home the biggest kick of his 31-game career.

"Gaz (Gary Ablett) came up to me and said … 'If you miss it, don't worry about it'," Hunt said.

"I took the pressure off myself, went back to the top of my run, remembered a few things the coaches have been working on with kicking goals and rocked up and slotted it through.

"I didn't have much time to think to be honest. I've dreamed about situations like that and you've just got to keep it as simple as possible."

It was a moment for any football neutral to enjoy as Hunt was mobbed after the siren by jubilant team-mates.

Suns coach Guy McKenna was as pleased as anyone and said Hunt's ability to convert under pressure was just reward for his side after a narrow loss to Geelong last Sunday.

"Of course we're losing (games), but it's actually teaching us how to win," McKenna said.

"Teaching these boys that if you hang on a bit harder, tackle a bit harder, compete a bit harder and actually put the opposition in some pressure situations we might have a chance.

"We smelled a bit of that last week (against Geelong) and I thought they carried that into the game this week."

Tigers coach Damien Hardwick saw his side pay for a series of errors in the second half that could seal their fate for a finals berth.

Richmond trailed by as much as 36 points in the second quarter but turned it around to lead by three goals late in the game.

"It was like God was conspiring against us having Karmichael take that mark," a disappointed Hardwick said after the game.

The Tigers were not helped by injuries to ruckman Ivan Maric (groin) and Ben Griffiths (calf), who were withdrawn from the side pre-game, before Jake Batchelor (leg) and Chris Newman (head) also went off during the match.

But Hardwick refused to blame that or the fact it was the second home game of a three-year deal Richmond agreed to play in Cairns for the defeat.

"If we had Ivan it certainly would have been possibly a better result, but the reality is he didn't play, he's injured, so we move on," he said.

"It's got nothing to do with the venue (either), we just haven't played well up here.

"The venue is not an excuse.

"At the end of the day Gold Coast played better than us."