By Michael Whiting

For first time in his tenure as coach of Gold Coast SUNS, Guy McKenna believes he watched his team lose a game it should have won.
 

The SUNS went into three-quarter time of Saturday night's QClash at Metricon Stadium trailing by two goals but opened the final term with superb pressure and a flurry of inside 50s.

It should have provided the momentum for a victory but poor finishing – the SUNS kicked just 1.8 for the term – left the door ajar for the Lions.

Inevitably, they barged it down, securing an 11-point victory and local bragging rights until 2013.

"You analyse that and you go bald and get grey hair don't you?" McKenna said of the fourth-quarter misses.

"I walk away thinking that was a game we probably lost and I haven't experienced that in my coaching career at the SUNS." 

"I think that's a step forward. I think the boys are certainly hurting after that – a game they probably should have won."

Gold Coast had numerous offenders when the match was on the line, with Jared Brennan and David Swallow in particular missing very gettable set shots.

Even technology conspired against the SUNS. 

Liam Patrick's grubber at the start of the final quarter was initially ruled a goal but a review saw the decision overruled when video suggested the ball brushed the leg of a Lion.

But McKenna was not concerned by the controversial call.

That's one review," McKenna said. "We still kicked 17 other points.
 

One of those 17 was delivered by Brennan, whose miss from directly in front would have put the SUNS up by seven points with five minutes to play.

The former Lion seemed desperate to notch a victory over his old team and perhaps over exuberance was a factor in the two free kicks he gave away in the last quarter, one of which was compounded when talking back to the umpire led to a 50m penalty.

But McKenna would not single out Brennan, or any of his players, for blame.

I don't think I could fault too many of the boys' efforts today, McKenna said.
 

"We spoke about our attitude throughout the week and I can't point the finger at anyone whose attitude I thought was poor."

Marcus Ashcroft Medallist Gary Ablett summed up the loss succinctly.

"We just couldn't kick straight", Ablett said.

"We got shots on goal, we hemmed the ball in there but … we didn't hit our forwards and when we did we missed easy goals."

The SUNS also opened the match in a profligate manner, booting just five behinds in the first term, a fact not lost on the skipper.

"It wasn't just the last quarter, we missed goals all day," Ablett said.

"We probably kicked ourselves out of the game."