In the aftermath of Saturday night’s 26-point loss to the GWS Giants at GIANTS Stadium, Senior Coach Stuart Dew was open and honest with his assessment of the game.

A SUNS side which has started the year strongly with pre-season wins against Port Adelaide and Geelong, followed it up with a Round 1 victory over in the west and matched it with reigning premiers Melbourne for large parts of the game.

“Disappointing to be honest, and it all started in the first quarter, we gave them the first look at the game,” Dew said.

“They were able to flick it around and then we allowed them to use their class because we didn’t put enough pressure on at all. nowhere near where it needed to be and to be fair where it has been against the opposition.

“It’s our fifth game so far this season including the two trial games and we've been able to pressure the opposition and at least match them in the contest, but GWS were far superior tonight.”

Dew understands his side were not at their best throughout the night, but clearly outlined that the coaching group will be looking for a response as Round 4 approaches.

“What is it the 26 points it's we're certainly looking at it saying, well that’s a fair way away from what we've been doing, so all is not lost.

“Yes we’re disappointed and we're certainly not going to gloss over it but we also think our body of work stands up and I expect us to bounce back.”

Someone who has settled into life as a Gold Coast SUN Levi Casboult, voted by the fans as the Austworld Player of Round, was acknowledged for his efforts against the GIANTS.

“He just competes, just competes in the air and gives us a great contest.

“He’s really physical, he’s enjoying his footy and the boys have got real confidence in him.

“We've loved having Levi at the footy club and he’s certainly added a bit, if we didn't have him today, it would have been a much different story.”

The forward line is still something the coaches and playing group are working on after the loss of Ben King in the pre-season and Izak Rankine for the past two games.

“We've got to keep working because you know, we're just not maximising our entries.

“We had 50 today and 60 last week, so we're getting it there, we’ve just got to make the most of them.

“We dropped some easy marks inside 50 tonight and those are the things where it’s difficult to win games against quality sides when you do that.”

The playing group will be out to get back to winning ways this Sunday afternoon when the in-form Carlton head north to Metricon Stadium.