Gold Coast tall Daniel Gorringe says he and his teammates have "done nothing" at AFL level and have been guilty of believing the hype about their talent.
The Suns were blasted both publicly and behind closed doors following their underwhelming display against Melbourne at the weekend as the club began its sixth season in the competition.
The Demons out-enthused the Suns on their way to a 26-point win at the MCG which Gorringe slammed as "terrible".
The 22-year-old South Australian product said suggestions the Suns young guns had grown complacent were probably fair comment.
"We've done nothing," Gorringe told AAP.
"I guess we might have been a bit ahead of ourselves.
"Being a young group, full of talent, perhaps the media saying it's going to happen got to us a little bit.
"We were brought to earth on Saturday.
"We know if we keep playing like that we're going to end up at the bottom of the table or near about so we can't do that each week if we want to survive in the AFL as team or as individuals.
"We don't want a performance like that all season, or ever again."
Amid the dismay, Gorringe was delighted to have earned the support of coach Rodney Eade for the opening round of the season.
Primarily a ruckman, Gorringe offers a versatility up front or in the backline and has clearly made an impression since Eade arrived at the club last year.
He said the challenge now was consistently earning selection so he could go from useful squad player to key starter.
"Just that continuity. I haven't had that for four years now," said Gorringe, who has played just 21 games since debuting for the Suns in round three of 2011.
"I can't control what the players around me are doing. I can just control what I control and that's the effort and attitude. If I bring that every week then I'm a chance to stay in."
