A frustrated Damien Hardwick has labelled his Gold Coast team a "middling side" following a comfortable 31-point loss to two-time reigning premier Brisbane Lions.
It is the Suns' second loss on the bounce and worsens their record to 2-4 against top 10 teams this season.
"The reality is that we're a middling side. We are where we are. We're short of the contenders," Hardwick said.
"We were last year, we're in the same place this year. We have to get to work so see 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. The players are disappointed and frustrated.
"This group is very good about taking and understanding responsibility. To their credit, they know the things we didn't get right and that's the frustration as well but the talking element and how to get the next step of execution is the challenge for us at the moment."
The Suns trailed by 13 points at quarter time and were never really in the contest as Brisbane finished with 22 more inside 50s off the back of stoppage dominance.
"We got belted around the contest. Minus 14 contested ball, minus 15 tackles, we had eight guys who didn't have a tackle. It's hard to believe really," Hardwick lamented.
"We just looked off and were comprehensively beaten in all facets of the game and Brisbane taught us a lesson. It doesn't matter who's playing in the jumper, you're expected to play to a certain standard and they lifted and we just couldn't go with them."
Hardwick added that the Suns had only one or two winners on the night and was visibly frustrated about the manner of defeat.
Games against premiership contenders Geelong, Hawthorn and Fremantle in the next three weeks will give an indication about where the club sits.
"I'm really flat. I'm flat for our supporters, I'm flat for our players, I'm flat for our club. We really set ourselves for this block of games and we got a kick in the backside," Hardwick said.
"I'm disappointed, I'm angry but we have to dust ourselves off and give ourselves a chance next week against Geelong."
