Gold Coast has fallen out of the top eight for the first time in 2025 after a stirring start to the year.
The Suns are still searching for a maiden finals appearance, and if Sunday's clash with GWS was anything to go by, they have plenty of learning still to go.
Damien Hardwick said post-game that when the whips were cracking, his charges failed the test in a "finals-type" contest, surrendering a 29-point second-term lead to lose by just over a goal.
The Giants piled on eight of the last 11 goals of the game to claim the victory, ultimately opening the door for the Western Bulldogs to replace the Queensland club in the top eight.
"Today's game, high contest, high pressure, is how we want it, because that's what finals are like. It was probably a finals-type game," Hardwick said.
"When they upped the ante, we were probably found a little bit wanting, which is unfortunate. It is something that hasn't really been evidenced throughout, but at some stages it does.
"We are a side that is still on the march and still learning some things. That's something we'll take out of the game today. When push comes to shove, we just didn't play those moments anywhere near well enough."
Did a player calling out 'play on' cost Mac Andrew this 50-metre penalty to Jesse Hogan?
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๐ข MATCH CENTRE https://t.co/gx1DFyu4u9 pic.twitter.com/Nx5m3yZccV— Fox Footy (@FOXFOOTY) June 22, 2025
Hardwick flagged that the inability to execute the "fundamentals" in the high-pressure environment was the difference maker in the result.
Star defender Mac Andrew had mistaken a "play on" call from a teammate and moved off his mark, which ultimately gifted Jesse Hogan a goal in the first term.
Later in the quarter, emerging key forward Jed Walter engaged in an unusual, and ineffective, goal-kicking approach that would've seen the Suns ahead by 28 points if he had converted.
"The very best players in world sport, regardless, no matter what time, no matter what the situation, they do the fundamentals very, very well," Hardwick said.
Jed Walter would like his time again after this set shot on the cusp of quarter time... ๐
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"He'll learn, he'll get better, but they are the frustrations. Jed, unfortunately, will learn a lesson with regard to that, and so will we."
Gold Coast have now lost three games on the trot, albeit all to top-eight sides.
They will get a chance to buck the recent trend with a game against Melbourne at People First Stadium on Saturday.
