While the Gold Coast SUNS were on the end of another heavy defeat on Saturday afternoon at the hands of Adelaide, the effort and commitment of the 22 that took the field cannot come into question.

The SUNS won the contested possession count (136-127) and were narrowly beaten in tackles (60-65), despite finishing the game with just two players on the bench after game-ending injuries to youngsters Darcy Macpherson and Callum Ah Chee.

Gold Coast players attacked every contest with ferocity and even though the team trailed by 53 points at the main break, the SUNS never gave in.

“Obviously another disappointing result against the Crows but I guess in that second half, we had two blokes down we didn’t shy away from the contest and our pressure was up as well,” Jesse Lonergan told BLK RAW after the 75-point loss to Adelaide.

“We tried our best and that was Rocket’s message before the game; don’t worry about the result, just the contest and pressure and I thought for most of the game we were good for that when we had to.”

Lonergan has been one of Gold Coast’s best players over the last two weeks, collecting 19 disposals and a game-high 11 tackles against GWS before his 27 disposals (18 contested), nine clearances and five tackles against the Crows.

His effort has never wavered, but the Tasmanian has marked himself hard, saying he needs to step up in the absence of many of the team’s key midfielders.

“I think I’ve been pretty patchy to be honest with you,” Lonergan said.

“With a lot of midfielders out I kind of needed to step up a bit more and I guess tonight was a little step forward but I need to continue that form and get better and be harder for my teammates as well.”

The powerhouse midfielder was involved in 26 centre bounces against the Crows, once again thrown in the deep end due to injuries to captain Gary Ablett and emerging midfielder Aaron Hall.

While the situation is far from ideal, Lonergan admits the extra exposure in the engine room has helped fast track his own development.

“It’s kind of a similar story to last year in a way, a good opportunity to play in the guts,” he said.

“I just want to get as much experience in there and just grow my game so the more time I can get in there, the better.”