GOLD Coast coach Rodney Eade has been forced to defend his playing group's commitment after Saturday's lifeless 102-point shellacking at the hands of Greater Western Sydney.

It was a diabolical afternoon for the Suns, who conceded 13 of the last 14 goals at Spotless Stadium to go down 24.16 (160) to 8.10 (58).

In his post-match press conference, it was put to Eade his players "didn't care".

While the coach did not accept that assessment, he did concede the Suns' inner sanctum lacked something.

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"They are a quiet group," Eade said. 

"Whether we've gone too young – we might need some more experience to give us a level head – and (Michael) Barlow and (Matt) Rosa help that.

"The young players we've got, even the ones in the seconds, are fairly quiet guys. At this stage of their careers they're probably sheep, to a degree.

"Whether that manifests itself out so that people think they don't care (I'm not sure).

"I know they do care."

On a difficult away trip to the Harbour City's western suburbs, and playing in front of a small crowd of just over 8,000, there were external factors that could explain the Suns' lack of energy.

But while Eade said his players had heart, on the field, it was hard to find a pulse.

A run of five straight goals either side of half-time was met with poker faces by the players, who were – at that stage at least – still in the game, trailing by 22 points midway through the third.

WATCH Rodney Eade's full media conference 

"There's no magic formula. You can't go down the street and buy some confidence from the shop," Eade said.

"It's about doing some hard work and getting the basics right and then the wheel will turn. I've seen it many times."

The Giants helped themselves to 16 goals from turnovers on Saturday, a statistic Eade described as "horrendous".

"The errors we made were pretty basic – dropped marks, we missed easy targets, and I'm talking 20-30m kicks," he said.

David Swallow, playing his first game in almost two years, provided a bright spot for the visitors.

The on-baller worked his way into the game in the second half and finished with 21 touches, including 11 in contests.

"He's fantastic, David. He's still got a bit to go to get back to his old self," Eade said.

"But one thing you know about David, and you hope that it rubs off on his teammates, is just his 100 per cent commitment at every contest."