As homecomings go, last weekend's trip to Western Australia was one to forget for Gold Coast defender Wil Powell.

The happy-go-lucky 21-year-old was as deflated as anyone after the SUNS' disappointing 27-point loss to an undermanned Fremantle in Perth last Saturday.

SUNS coach Stuart Dew labelled the performance his team's worst of the year as their hopes of making a second-half of the season push for an unlikely maiden finals appearance took a huge blow.

"It was a disappointed, embarrassing trip on the way home, the way we played and dished up that performance," WA product Powell said.

"We had a review of the game and went through on how we stop making the spikes so high and the low, really low.

"Our average winning margin's 40 and the average losing (margin's) 31.

"We just talked about how we level that out to play every single game at an AFL consistency and level it out to a winning margin of 10 or a losing margin of 10 like a top-four side."

Since arriving at the SUNS as a bolter in the first round of the 2017 draft, Powell has developed from an undersized midfielder who initially struggled with homesickness into a skilful and brave half-back.

Powell, in February, signed a four-year contract extension which will keep him at the SUNS until 2025.

Now just three games away from his 50th AFL appearance, Powell's commitment to the club hasn't wavered despite having tasted victory just 13 times in those 47 games.

"We're so close to it ... you can feel it," he said.

"It's hard to explain but we're that close, it's just a few little tweaks and different things that we've got to do and once we do, it's going to click.

"There's definitely that belief still there and love this club, I'm sold on it long-term."