Gold Coast defender Steven May says the Suns got ahead of themselves after their unbeaten start to the season.
The Suns won their first three matches of 2016, including a first victory in Western Australia over Fremantle in round two.
That impressive start had many players already thinking about an inaugural finals appearance for the club, May has revealed.
Since then however the Suns have been ravaged by injury and collapsed to seven straight defeats - by an average margin of 11 goals.
With up to five players expected to return for this weekend's clash against high-flying Sydney, May is warning his teammates to avoid falling into a similar trap and believing the worst is over.
"We made that mistake early, we thought we were going to win a lot of games early and we lost to Brisbane in round four," May, who copped a five-match suspension for a high bump on Lion Stefan Martin in that match, said.
"With the personnel coming back, we can't just magically think we get five blokes back and we're going to win.
"You still have to get that synergy and chemistry together, especially on team defence, that's something we really need to work on."
May made his return from suspension against West Coast's Josh Kennedy, with the forward kicking five goals in the Eagles' 77-point win.
The tasks don't get any easier with the key defender set to face off with in-form Swans forward Buddy Franklin at Metricon Stadium on Saturday.
"I relish playing on the stars of the game," he said.
"It's a perk of my job playing down back ... Buddy's been in super form, I've just got to prepare for him this week like I did Kennedy."
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