It may have been a home game for Gold Coast, but the SUNS were far from comfortable at Jiangwan Sports Stadium in Shanghai.

Coach Rodney Eade was "flat" in the post-game press conference, after his side only managed a score of 38 in its 72-point loss to Port Adelaide.

"That's as disappointed as I've been," Eade said, who agreed with the suggestion it was one of the worst performances by the SUNS in his two-and-a-half year tenure.

"I didn't see that coming. Preparation was good, attitude's been good, so it was extremely disappointing."

Eade was bemused at some of the errors made by his team, especially as they often appeared to be self-inflicted.

"Some of the fumbles were inexplicable, they were in the clear. I thought there [must be] something wrong with the ball at one stage.

"A lot of the players fell over on this side of the ground, but it didn't appear to be wet.

"We seemed to be in a reasonable mindset before the game but we didn't have enough get up and go early."

The SUNS were goalless in the final quarter, only managing four for the match, and lost the inside-50 count 48-76.

"I'm just flat about it, I just don't think that's us. So that was the most disappointing thing," Eade said.

"We've turned it around before, but we’ve got to get players who are consistent with their effort and consistent with their intensity. I know they’re clichéd words, but I think it encapsulates a lot, and that's what we need to do."

Key defender Rory Thompson, who has missed the past month with a quad injury, was a late withdrawal due to hamstring tightness suffered in the warm-up, further adding to the SUNS’ woes 

"He just got a bit of tightness in the warm-up outside, mainly I think, kicking.

"We had to make the decision about 10 minutes before he actually came out. It's not worth the risk, especially given his history."

Despite the loss and difficult logistics involved in the trip, Eade was keen to make a return journey to Shanghai.

"We were poor and we need to redeem ourselves next week and hopefully get a chance to redeem ourselves next year.

"It's AFL-driven, but from our point of view, we want to come back.

"Except for the result today, everything's been terrific. Everything in the preparation and everything the Chinese people did for us and the organisation has been great."