AFTER such a promising month of football, Sunday's heavy loss to Gold Coast was a "reality check" for Hawthorn, said coach Sam Mitchell.

After kicking the first three goals of the match, the Hawks folded badly after quarter-time, losing by 67 points and becoming the 10th of 12 teams this season to lose following its bye.

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Coming off a morale-boosting win over Brisbane two weeks ago, Mitchell said there was not a lot to get excited about from the performance and was not making excuses for the youth of his team.

"We don't chalk up anything to an anomaly," Mitchell said.

"We know there's going to be steps forward and some will be very, very small.

"At the moment I can't find too many positives out of today.

"We had won three out of four, feeling like we were moving along pretty well and then today was a reality check.

"We know when we aren't at our best we get a touch up, and today we had no answers."

The free-wheeling Hawks were able to kick just two goals – both to Luke Breust – after the opening 15 minutes as they battled to move the ball from defence.

Despite conceding 22 inside 50s in the second quarter alone, they were within touching distance at half-time, trailing by just 10 points.

But the floodgates opened up after the main break, with Mitchell particularly displeased by a late fade-out that saw his team concede five unanswered goals in the fourth quarter.

"I was relay disappointed in the last quarter," he said.

"When you're a fan of a club and member of a club like Hawthorn you want to see progress, spirit and belief in the direction you're going.

"Against Port (Adelaide in round 12) we were a long way down at half-time but we played with a spirit and belief that they knew how to get back into the game.

"Today we never could find a way to get ourselves up and going.

"I feel like we let our people down today."

Gold Coast coach Stuart Dew was pleased with his team's response following its hammering at the hands of Carlton seven days earlier.

He said their pressure in the forward half of the ground, where they generated a season-high 35 turnovers, was particularly impressive.

"We were able to lock it in, build pressure there and put some of their players under some heat with their ball use," Dew said.

"It was a focus on the back of last week. We felt Carlton were able to come through the middle too easy.

"Pleasingly, we responded. There were some disappointed guys in the sheds last week."

Gold Coast's inclusions following the loss against the Blues all performed, with Brandon Ellis, Lachie Weller, Hewago Oea and Sam Flanders all making an impact.

Flanders finished with 27 disposals (13 contested) and five clearances in his first outing since round eight.

"We were keen to get him back to the VFL, get him in some really good form, as he was last year in the finals," Dew said.

"Unfortunately, he got injured at the start of the year and has taken a bit to get going.

"We're certainly right behind Sam and the way he plays footy.

"His belief should grow on the back of that."