IT FELT like a 10-goal thumping to Guy McKenna but the Gold Coast coach said the Suns' 26-point loss to Hawthorn on Sunday was a learning experience that will only help his young team get better.
The Suns led by 11 points at half-time after going toe-to-toe with the Hawks before last year's grand finalists introduced stifling pressure that forced the visiting team to make a raft of turnovers.
The goals then flowed, Lance Franklin got the sort of delivery that some of the game's best defenders couldn't have stopped, let alone 22-gamer Rory Thompson, and the result went the way it was expected to.
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"We're disappointed," McKenna said afterwards.
"A four-goal loss to Hawthorn … I'm sure parents and people will go away and pat blokes on the back but I said we should be disappointed but we can get better by that.
"I sat in the box at the end of the game and I felt because of our turnovers, it felt like a 10-goal loss. I looked at the scoreboard and I kept seeing a four-goal loss.
"I'm not a big one for honourable losses because I thought our boys fought it out, we were beaten and clearly beaten by a better side."
The Hawks' pressure not only gave Franklin better supply than he'd received all afternoon but it challenged the Suns after their past fortnight produced wins over Melbourne and the Western Bulldogs.
McKenna said the second half, and the way the pressure forced a loss of composure, provided an important lesson.
"That's great. That's what they need to experience, out here on the MCG against a side like that," he said.
"We'll only grow from that and that's the pleasing thing because it's hard for us to manufacture that at training.
"The boys need to go through that."
Thompson was all over Franklin in the first half; McKenna said he felt his backman was able to "defend arguably the best tall forward in the game when it was put into his area on our terms".
But once the pressure went up and the ball was coming into their defensive 50 the way the Hawks liked it, "Steve Silvagni, Gary Pert or Paul Roos couldn't have stopped those".
Thompson admitted it was a challenging prospect to play against Franklin but felt his confidence grow as the first half progressed and the Suns controlled the game.
"I think it's more a second effort type thing with Buddy. You might beat him in the air but when it goes to ground he's just as devastating," Thompson said.
"I was pretty nervous with the first couple of marks, I didn't want to drop them.
"When the pressure's on up the field, it gives you more of a chance to back yourself and go for that sort of mark.
"I definitely got a bit more confidence after that first quarter but once they stepped the pressure up in that third quarter, things got a lot tougher and I just had to lock down and weather the storm a bit."
The Suns will face Geelong at Simonds Stadium next week without Jared Brennan, who sustained a suspected medial ligament injury, and Jesse Lonergan, who hurt his hamstring.
Steven May corked his quad and couldn't run out the second half but Harley Bennell should be fine to return from a hamstring.
Charlie Dixon is an "outside chance" while Karmichael Hunt may play in the NEAFL after missing three weeks with hamstring tendonitis.
McKenna said while the Suns may have lost on Sunday, they would hit the Cats with belief after strong performances from a range of players like Gary Ablett, Dion Prestia, Trent McKenzie, Jaeger O'Meara and Greg Broughton.
"We understand how tough [Geelong] is going to be but we come out of this with a bit of confidence. We know we can get so much better," he said.
Jennifer Phelan is a reporter for AFL Media. Follow her on Twitter @AFL_JenPhelan.
