There are no excuses for Brisbane's lacklustre AFL performance against the Western Bulldogs at the weekend, young forward Daniel McStay says.
It feels like groundhog day at the Gabba, with the Lions once more lambasted for a general lack of intensity in their heavy 72-point defeat to the Dogs.
Brisbane are now second-last on the ladder with the worst percentage in the competition, even lower than regional rivals Gold Coast and strugglers Carlton.
McStay, who was one of Brisbane's better performers at the weekend with three goals, said effort was not the issue - but he understands if it looks that way.
"There's really no excuse for it, to be honest," McStay told reporters on Tuesday.
"A lot of people called it lack of effort - I know I was trying as hard as I can and a lot of the boys felt like they were.
"But it didn't look like that from the stands, so it's disappointing."
McStay expressed his frustration that the Lions are having to again answer the same sort of questions of their football as they did during the opening portion of the season.
Coach Justin Leppitsch pointed the finger at his senior players for their second-half meltdown against the Bulldogs, in which Brisbane went from just nine points behind to conceding 13 of the next 15 goals.
McStay agreed, but said the team's young players also have to share the blame.
"It's similar things," McStay said.
"It mainly goes back to contested footy - really, the heart of football.
"It's not happening at the moment.
"They're not winning the ball like we'd like them to and get it forward so we can have an impact.
"But the whole team's really letting us down at the moment, you can't just blame the leaders - it's the young guys as well, we've got to step it up."
The Lions face seventh-placed Adelaide on Saturday afternoon at the Gabba.
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