Gold Coast senior coach Damien Hardwick has left Friday night's shock loss at the hands of the 13th placed Power bitterly disappointed, demanding a response from his side ahead of their rescheduled fixture against Essendon.
The four-point defeat to an emotionally charged Port Adelaide side means the Suns' clash next Wednesday night is now a must-win affair if the club is to clinch an inaugural Finals berth.
While Hardwick admitted the Power "wanted it more" and believed the Suns' ill-discipline was costly, he also questioned the umpiring which saw Port Adelaide win over double the amount of free kicks Gold Coast received (33-16), nine of which were given in the final term.
"We gave away too many [free kicks], there's no question about that," Hardwick said.
"It's one of those things, unfortunately. The emotion of the game, whatever it is, all of a sudden, you're giving away territory that's very hard to earn and you're giving it back free of charge [via 50-metre penalties].
"I thought the umpires got caught up in the emotion of the game. It can happen. Asking the wrong bloke the wrong question, maybe ask the umpiring department [about the free kick differential]."
Hardwick was fired up post-game, calling for his leaders to lift ahead of the do-or-die matchup with the Bombers, but gave the Power and exiting senior coach Ken Hinkley their flowers, highlighting their stronger intent to win the contested football.
"[Port Adelaide] just wanted it more. Ken's a great coach that I reckon gets his side to play for him," Hardwick said.
There's a reason I think he's one of the best coaches of the last 10 years. He willed them over the line, and we didn't match their toughness in and around the contest, their cleanliness in the contest and the result goes accordingly, which is disappointing.
"Everything is a concern when you're losing. There's some things in our game tonight that we just couldn't get right. I thought the Power looked cleaner around the contest and got forward of us at various stages.
"We couldn't get scoreboard dominance and left goals on the table. So many times I thought we had good looks inside 50 and just butchered it... You've got to make the most of your opportunities and we didn't at various stages, and they did."
The Suns registered 13 fewer contested possessions than their season average and lost the clearance battle for just the third time in 2025 in the potentially season-defining loss. However, Hardwick is backing in his side to respond appropriately, with a clear motivator to propel them to a win next week.
"You're playing for a Finals campaign. If you need me to sit there and give you a motivational speech to want to play your first Finals campaign in our organisation's history, then you're playing the wrong game," Hardwick said.
"Our players have got to pick themselves up, they've got to lead from the front, they're going to take charge.
"I'm going to hand it over to them. We're going to see what this group is made of, because they are made out of something special. Tonight, they didn't show it, but I think they're capable of doing some really good things."
Gold Coast will conclude the 2025 home-and-away season against Essendon next Wednesday night, with the first bounce at 7:20pm (AEST) at People First Stadium.
