Michael Rischitelli is one of the few Gold Coast SUNS to have played finals football, and he admits his young side still has some way to go before it can be considered a genuine top-four contender.

The veteran midfielder said his team’s best is good enough to match it with the top sides in the AFL, but Saturday’s loss to Hawthorn showed the team needs to perform over four quarters to have any hope of overcoming the elite teams in the competition.

While the SUNS have improved greatly in 2014, the capitulation against the Hawks, much like the disappointing loss in similar conditions to Fremantle earlier in the season, are examples of how far the club has to go before it can compete consistently with last year’s grand finalists and other top sides such as Port Adelaide and Sydney.

“I think it shows that and (the top four teams) are a step above,” Rischitelli said.

“It’s good when you play sides like that, though, because you learn a lot.

“We always knew it was going to be a tough three or four weeks, and our best is (good enough) and we proved that the week before (against Geelong), but we weren’t able to back it up.

“At the end of the day, the good teams do it for four quarters and we are trying to do that at the moment.”

Rischitelli finished with 22 touches and four marks against the Hawks in a badly-beaten outfit.