RHYCE Shaw is at a loss.
At a loss to explain his team's inept performance on Sunday night and at a loss to explain how they'll turn it around next week.
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North Melbourne, depleted by injury, was embarrassed by Gold Coast at Metricon Stadium, barely putting up a whimper of fight after half-time in the 63-point hiding.
And the Kangaroos' dispirited coach had no answers post-match.
Shaw was so disconsolate he struggled to string sentences together early in his press conference before eventually articulating his thoughts.
"It wasn't good enough," was his simple summation.
"It's not an acceptable performance, that's what it is. I think they only thing that can happen now is what the response is.
"I'm at a loss really.
"This week's going to show a lot and tell us a lot about what they want to do."
North Melbourne has now lost five games straight, is languishing in 17th position on the ladder and finishes its season with matches against Port Adelaide, Fremantle and West Coast.
They failed to kick a goal after half-time against the Suns and dropped right away.
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When asked whether the performance was more an issue with poor structural formation and execution or a lack of effort, Shaw said he didn't know.
"It's really difficult to sit here and tell you the ins and outs of what happened and what didn't happen," he said.
"A lot didn't happen and that's just what it is."
And a message for the members and fans?
"They'd be really disappointed with tonight. I really feel for them," Shaw said.
"It wasn't good enough and it's not acceptable at this level."
On the flipside, Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew was beaming after his team's performance, winning the club's first game in eight matches on the back of an exciting brand of football.
He said the run-and-gun approach that netted 31 scoring shots from 45 inside 50 entries was something the Suns would try to replicate for the final three rounds.
"We've been working towards a game like this," Dew said.
"We did really want to play that with speed and take the game on and we're willing to live with some mistakes … we wanted to keep promoting that risk element.
"We want to make sure we test some teams and try and knock some over.
"We want to hit the end of the year with momentum."
