THERE'S a number of problems with Gold Coast at the moment, but one major area of concern has been its inability to cash in on periods of dominance.
Against Essendon on Saturday night the Suns led by five points at half-time but kicked just 4.11 in the first two terms. The Bombers came out after the break and blew them away.
A week earlier against North Melbourne, Gold Coast kicked just four goals from 11 shots during a dominant second quarter to trail by 11 points at the main change.
The Kangaroos put the foot down after half-time to win easily.
Coach Stuart Dew has said his team needed to improve its resilience over four quarters, but the poor conversion has been a source of frustration.
Speaking on Tuesday morning, ruckman Jarrod Witts said it was "flattening" to not apply more pressure on the scoreboard.
"We play really good footy but we're not cashing in," Witts said.
"The expectation is we have to finish better, and when teams get that momentum on us they put us to the sword and kick four or five goals.
"We have to finish better when we get the opportunities."
Witts said it was a two-pronged problem – the initial miss and then what happened after.
"It's not ideal when you don't kick goals you should kick, but every team does that," he said.
"We've got to be better when the game's not on our terms at switching it and pulling that momentum back."
Gold Coast has lost 11 games straight and you'd be a brave person to tip against it not being 12 after Saturday when it travels to Sydney to play the Swans.
Despite the Suns plunging to 17th position with six rounds remaining, Witts said the players were still enthusiastic about the remainder of the season.
He said the successful return of long-term injured trio Michael Barlow, Pearce Hanley and Brayden Fiorini in the NEAFL at the weekend had been a morale boost for the club.
"We've lost a few on the trot, but I think we've been good at putting it to rest Monday and Tuesday," he said.
"We have shown when the game is on our terms it really works, so it's good to get reward in that sense, but ideally you want that for four quarters, not two."