Brisbane legend Jonathan Brown has shredded the Gold Coast Suns following a 50-point thumping at the hands of Port Adelaide, labelling the club's lack of defensive pressure "embarrassing".
The 16th-placed Gold Coast today lost their fifth match from their last six games – and, worryingly, they've now suffered a defeat of 50 points or more on three occasions this season.
Stuart Dew's men leaked 96 uncontested marks and eight of the Power's 11 goals stemmed from passages of play from their defensive 50.
"They (the Power) are able to transition too easy … They're really walking through the Gold Coast Suns defence across the board," Brown said on Fox Footy's coverage.
"Just looking at some of the Suns midfielders chasing – it's pretty ordinary.
"Their application and intensity to that team defence and their want to cut out those options just hasn't been there all day, apart from the first five minutes of the game. This has been really disappointing. Yes they're young, but there's no excuse for the lack of effort and the ability for Port Adelaide just to waltz through."
One of the greatest fears behind any Gold Coast form slump – and they've rarely had a strong run since their inaugural 2011 season – is that more star talent will depart the club.
Jaegar O'Meara, Adam Saad, Charlie Dixon, Tom Lynch, Steven May and Gary Ablett junior are among the host of gun footballers who've walked away from the Suns.
While the team's failures have previously been overlooked due to the inexperience on its list, Brown wasn't prepared to give the Suns another out.
"It's been embarrassing, frankly. I know that's harsh, but this is AFL football," Brown said.
"I don't want to hear the 'young' argument. They were younger when they played Collingwood at the MCG a few weeks ago and had a great win. So get rid of the 'young' argument.
"There is no excuse for a lack of effort when it comes to these sorts of things – and that lack of effort was on show for far too long in the game, as far as I'm concerned."
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