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Gold Coast Suns coach Stuart Dews has lashed his side's indefensible poor decision making after their nine-point AFL loss to last-placed North Melbourne.
Gold Coast Suns coach Stuart Dew admitted he was under the pump after a 50-point AFL loss to Port Adelaide a week ago.
By that measure, he'd be under even more pressure after his side went down to last-placed North Melbourne on Saturday afternoon.
The Suns again faded away at Hobart's Blundstone Arena to lose by nine points. They sit third last on the ladder with just four wins to their name for the season.
"It always hurts when it's an arm wrestle all day and you don't come in and sing the song," Dew said.
"We had our opportunities. The third quarter was the most disappointing. It was four to 20 inside 50s.
"We didn't absorb. We passed pressure to teammates, which was a theme last week.
"Poor decision making with the ball, kicking long corridor into the breeze. That's indefensible from our point of view in terms of how to play the conditions.
"Our effort was there, execution - the gap was just far too big. It stings, obviously."
Dew conceded the Suns, who were without skipper David Swallow and fellow midfielder Lachie Weller, were outgunned around the stoppages.
One bright spot was the performance of forward Josh Corbett, who booted three goals in his return to the top grade following a five-goal performance in the VFL.
"We're really working hard with his body (so he is) able to consistently train and play," Dew said.
"It goes two-to-three weeks where he can't train and (his) performance drops right off. So we want to try and get that right."
The Suns meet reigning premiers Richmond next round, with Dew saying Swallow remains on track to return from a bout of concussion.
"He's good. He ran today. He's ticking all his protocols. He's in good shape for next week."