Coach Damien Hardwick has slammed a “middling” Suns outfit after a poor performance from Gold Coast against a vulnerable Brisbane on Saturday night.
With several players out and in the midst of a mid-season form slump, there was no better time for the Suns to take on the Lions but were instead taught a lesson from the dual reigning premiers.
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“Everything (let us down). We just looked off at the start,” Hardwick said.
“I thought the first quarter we had some unpressured looks we just made fatal mistakes and they came back the other way.
“Then quarters two, three and four we got belted around the contest.”
Hardwick demanded more from his side in the second half of the campaign if they want to be considered contenders and take a step forward from last year’s semi-final appearance.
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“The reality is we’re a middling side aren’t we,” he said.
“We sort of are where we are. We’re short of the contenders, we were last year, we’re the same place this year.
“We got to get to work and figure out how that looks and what we can do to close that gap.
“We’re well short at the moment. All those sides that are at the top have beaten us by 30 plus points and haven’t given us a chance.”
It was the same story again for the Suns as their star-studded midfield were outplayed in the contest, comprehensively losing the clearance battle.
“I spoke to the group at the end we were really disappointed in that facet of the game,” Hardwick said.
“It’s the clearances but it’s also the general scrimmages.
“We were just beaten and outhunted and outworked around that space.
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“We’ve thought about some things we can do, I thought Leo Lombard went in there and really showed something.
“At the end of the day we’ve got to sit there and put it on our guys and get the job done – next man in mentality.”
The Lions – led by Josh Dunkley – thwarted the dynamic duo of Matt Rowell and Noah Anderson with the pair combining for 15 first-half disposals.
Rowell and Anderson found their way into the contest as the game went on but the damage was already done.
Gold Coast now faces a daunting task travelling to Geelong next week with little time to turn around Saturday’s poor outing in front of a sold out People First Stadium.
“I am really flat. I am flat for our supporters, I’m flat for our players, I’m flat for our club,” Hardwick said.
“We really set ourselves for the block of games and we’ve got a kick in the backside.
“So I’m disappointed, I’m angry, I’m all of those things, it’s harsh, it’s hard.
“We’ll make sure we dust ourselves off and give ourselves a chance next week versus Geelong.”
— NCA NewsWire