Gold Coast SUNS Senior Coach Stuart Dew says his side is “wounded” but not out for the count after a loss at the hands of Sydney on Saturday night at Heritage Bank Stadium.

The 2022 Grand Finalists looked sharp against the SUNS and punished the home side on turnover on their way to a 49-point victory.

“They outworked us and outnumbered us around the contest which allowed their class to come through,” Dew said post-match.

“Then when we won it back we were under more pressure than what we dished out.

“We’ve got a fair bit to work on. It’s the start of a long year so we’ll take what we need to out of it.

“It’s not what we wanted and we don’t want to hide from that but this game demands that you get going again and we’ve got another opportunity next week.”

SUNS vice-captain Sam Collins left the field after a head knock in the final quarter and did not return after being assessed by the medical team.

But Dew said the key defender had passed his HIA (head injury assessment)

“He had to get assessed and passed his test so he’ll be fine next week,” Dew said.

“Then once that happens you have to wait 15 minutes – there was only 11 minutes to go so the game was done.”

The SUNS will look to put Round 1 to bed and rebound against the Bombers next weekend at Marvel Stadium.