Damien Hardwick has put his star-studded Gold Coast midfield on notice after the Brisbane Lions again left them questioning their credentials in a flattening 31-point QClash loss.
The Suns were trampled around the contest, with Josh Dunkley again silencing Brownlow Medallist Matt Rowell and Lachie Neale dominating the midfield for the two-time premiers.
Logan Morris ran rampant, the 21-year-old kicking a career-high seven goals and adding four behinds and two other near misses in the 15.16 (106) to 11.9 (76) Carrara win.
Victory snapped a three-game losing streak for Brisbane (7-6) while the Suns (7-5) were fresh off a bye that came after they were run down by North Melbourne.
"I hate losing full stop, especially the way you lose," Hardwick said.
"Our best players didn't play well enough.
"We had one or two winners maybe, possibly, on the night.
Lachie Weller and Will Graham both suffered hamstring injuries but Hardwick hinted there could be widespread changes for the trip to Geelong next Friday, saying "there has to be" players on notice.
Dunkley (seven tackles) had endured a quiet season but kept Rowell (15 touches) to just seven in the first half before he was moved.
Noah Anderson finished with 26 touches but only had eight at halftime while Neale collected 15 in the first quarter and finished with 37.
"I spoke to Rowelly," Hardwick said after his star was silenced again by one of the competition's leading defensive midfielders.
"You've got to do something different with him, or help him out more.
"It's the definition of insanity. This guy (Dunkley) gets it done every time, then we go to Lachie Neale and couldn't get it done there."
The Suns were knocked out of the finals in their maiden post-season appearance by the Lions last year.
They play the Cats in Geelong, host Hawthorn, travel to Perth to face Fremantle, host Collingwood then play the Crows in Adelaide and host the Western Bulldogs in a challenging six-week period.
"We're a middling side aren't we? Short of the contenders," Hardwick said.
"We were last year and we're in the same place this year so we have to get to work ... to close that gap.
"I'm really flat ... we set ourselves for this block of games and we've got a kick in the backside."
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