David Swallow’s appetite for the contest was second to none on Saturday night, in a performance where he was best on ground for the SUNS.
The midfielder received plenty of praise from senior coach Stuart Dew after gathering 31 touches and kicking three goals.
His performance wasn’t enough to get Gold Coast over the line, with Adelaide dominating the first half and opening up a 45-point lead.
As one of the club’s leaders, Swallow was clearly disappointed with how the team started the game against a quality side.
“They just looked bigger and stronger than us in the first half, we were disappointed with the contest,” he said.
“The second half we were much better and we showed up, but it was too late.”
“They’ve obviously got some really quality on-ballers, so they got on top of us in that contested side of the game in the first half.”
After being challenged by the coaching staff at half time, the SUNS came out and showed the same intent that they have become known for over the early parts of the season.
Swallow is keen for that effort to be shown across four quarters, starting with this Saturday’s game against the Western Bulldogs in Ballarat.
“We got challenged at half time and the boys did respond, but as I said it wasn’t good enough from our point of view in the first half and we’ll look to rectify that next week.
“We showed we can do it so I think that’s the disappointing thing from all of us inside, we just have to be at it for four quarters that’s for sure.
“If we can play like we did in the second half today, we’ll be a shot for sure (against the Bulldogs).”
