GOLD Coast was "too cute" in its use of the footy, and its concentration throughout quarters was a serious issue in the disappointing 28-point loss to Essendon.

Suns coach Stuart Dew felt his side had improved somewhat on last week's effort in the demolition by Sydney, but said there is still serious improvement needed.

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"We had massive opportunities in that third (quarter) to build some distance, and we got too cute with the footy. Essendon, full credit, cranked up their pressure," Dew said.

"It was an arm wrestle. We're really disappointed with the finish, clearly. We came to play a good, balanced brand of footy, and we lost our way in the last quarter. But having said that, we felt we should've had more gap at three-quarter time, but you can't change it.

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"I think in the end, that's the gap – we didn't finish off, we didn't finish off quarters, I think there were probably three or four goals in the last minute across the course of the game, so our discipline to finish the quarter, in the end, that bites you.

"Look, it was improved, but I feel a bit sick saying that, to be honest. So it was, but I think there's still work to do. At different times, we were too choosy, so we have to sort that out, sort out both sides of the ball. I think that's what we'll get to work on, make sure we play both sides of the ball to maximum speed."

The Suns made the call to drop their 2022 leading goalkicker in Mabior Chol, bringing in the smaller Malcolm Rosas jnr for his defensive work, and Dew left the door open for an immediate recall to face Geelong next Sunday.

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"We found [the forward line mix] hard to judge last week, because our pressure wasn't enough, and that wasn't anything to do with height. We obviously made the change this week," Dew said.

"It looked a little bit better, but we'll sit down, look at the opposition as well and look at us, look at conditions and make the call. Ben [King] is able to play full minutes now, a little bit restricted last week, so I think we'll get to work, see how they train and pull up and continually look at that mix."

Essendon made the surprising decision to pull former captain Dyson Heppell (14 disposals at 71 per cent) from the game as the tactical substitute in the third term, replacing him with the run of Matt Guelfi.

Coach Brad Scott said it was to give the 30-year-old Heppell the best chance of being ready for St Kilda off a six-day break.

"We wanted to get Guelfi into the game, and we wanted to play him on the wing. It was a line-ball call between two or three players," Scott said.

"To be perfectly honest, when it's line-ball, we really want to manage Dyson through this year and make sure he's at his best. So it fell that way, but I'm sure it shocked him, I doubt he's ever been subbed off in his life.

"You never telegraph a sub, either, so it was probably a surprise to him. I haven't spoken to him about it yet, but he's as team-oriented as I've seen anyone. He'll just play his part. Hopefully he watched Richmond play Adelaide and saw Dustin Martin get subbed off too.

"He played every game last season, which is a credit to him, but it's a long season and we want him at his best. So we'll just monitor him, and as soon as he shows some signs of fatigue setting in, we'll rest him and bring him back in so he's got every chance of playing his best footy.

"Out of a 23-game season, hopefully plus post-season (finals), if he plays three quarters of those at a really high level, that'll be a really good result for us."

Scott praised the game of the versatile Kyle Langford, who booted five majors after being swung from his defensive position last week, covering the absence of noted goalkickers Peter Wright, Sam Weideman, Jake Stringer and Anthony McDonald-Tipungwuti.

"Dale Tapping, our forwards coach, has talked before about Kyle being a difficult match-up, and he's a bit of a 'Mr Fix-It' for us, he can play in all parts of the ground. He's played even in the ruck before, so he's a really versatile player," he said.

"We were keen to settle him down, he played a really important role for us last week, but it's a sign of his class and maturity that he's able to adjust his game and fit into a forward structure that we try to base around system, rather than personnel."

Scott said it looked like key defender Brandon Zerk-Thatcher has sustained a standard sprained ankle affecting the lateral ligament, rather than a more serious syndesmosis issue.