GOLD Coast ruckman Tom Nicholls is not blaming a lack of fitness for being overrun by the Western Bulldogs at the weekend.
 
The Suns conceded 10 final quarter goals in Cairns to give up what appeared a match-winning 37-point lead to plummet to their 12th loss of the season.
 
In his post-match press conference, coach Rodney Eade said Gold Coast had struggled to run in the last term, citing niggles to key midfielders David Swallow and Michael Rischitelli that limited their output.
 
Eade also said he was surprised by the lack of fitness of some players when he took over the head coaching role during the off-season.
 
Speaking on Tuesday, Nicholls said the Suns had been doing extra running sessions during the week to get fitter.
 
"We've displayed in the past that we can run out whole games, but footy is a week-to-week proposition and unfortunately last week it came down to that," Nicholls said.
 
"That last quarter you can learn so much.
 
"In terms of fitness, that was one small part of it we think.
 
"We were put in that situation we haven't been put in too often, and I think everyone carried that responsibility and wanted to win the game off their own bat, which is honourable in theory, but out there it doesn’t help the team aspect."
 
Nicholls has been with the Suns since their inaugural 2011 season, and said despite the difficulties of 2015, they did not feel like they had wasted five years.
 
"You don't learn anything until you experience it," he said.
 
"You could say we're experiencing a lack of fitness, but that's a small part of it.
 
"We're learning how to deal with it. We've been doing extra running throughout the week to deal with that and help combat that.
 
"As long as we've learned from it, it hasn't been a waste."
 
Gold Coast hosts fellow expansion club Greater Western Sydney on Saturday.
 
When the teams met in round four, the Giants flogged their older brothers by 66 points in Canberra.
 
Nicholls admitted it stung that GWS was having a better season.
 
"You've got a lot of pride playing footy and we're the two new clubs coming through, and they're a massive rival of ours," he said.
 
"Internally we've got our own expectations and we know in footy you fluctuate a lot … we've had a massive down to last year but we know there's bright skies ahead."