GOLD Coast has reverted to being a "middling" side after a fifth straight loss, with coach Damien Hardwick conceding the team has failed to meet expectations as it fights to scrape into the top 10 this season.

The Suns have fallen from premiership favouritism early in the season to now sit 11th with a 7-8 record after their worst run of defeats since 2019, with Fremantle holding them to just three goals in a crushing 51-point win on Sunday.

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Hardwick said the Suns were disappointed with their output and needed to have a short-term focus in the last two months of the season, with the coach admitting he had his work cut out to reinvigorate the team's chances in 2026.

"It's an eight-week season for us. End of the day, we win more games than we don't, we probably scrape into the top 10. That's got to be the aim for us at the moment," Hardwick said on Sunday night.

"People are always going to come when you don't live up to those expectations, and we're disappointed with where we're at. We've got to take stock, and we've got eight weeks to try and turn it around.

"My job as a coach is to sit there and get the players to understand why and how we lost, but more importantly, what we are capable of doing when we play our best.

"It's been a tough battle the last couple of weeks. I'm not going to lie, we're just struggling … tonight we just reverted back to the middling side that we probably [are] at the moment, so I've got some work to do."

Hardwick put the heat on his team's forward-half game after Gold Coast took just four marks inside 50 from 40 entries, kicking its lowest-ever score against Fremantle and its equal fourth lowest on record.

Coleman Medal leader Ben King was outpointed by Brennan Cox, taking one mark and kicking 1.2, while Ben Long and star recruit Christian Petracca missed chances across the game.

"I thought our boys inside 50 today were really, really poor. I thought we had momentum where we should have scored and got goals, and we just didn't," Hardwick said.

"We fluffed it, (and) they're the frustrating ones, especially when you're away. You need to capitalise on those opportunities, especially in the first and second quarter.

"We had opportunities where we could have passed off to a teammate to get a better shot on goal, and I spoke about this last week and we didn't do it. So we've got to get it done."

Hardwick said he would continue to explore using Brownlow medallist Matt Rowell as a rotating forward, acknowledging the Suns weren't getting the best out of their midfielders in secondary roles this season.

Gold Coast won the clearance battle 36-24 on Sunday but succumbed to Fremantle’s pressure and was unable to capitalise, losing the inside 50s (40-54) convincingly.

Fremantle coach Justin Longmuir paid tribute to his backline, and specifically Cox, after another typically miserly display.

"Brennan Cox is probably the most underrated key back in the comp, and probably has been for a while," Longmuir said.

"Not only was he able to negate King, but I thought he was able to win the ball back a lot, and especially in that last quarter.

"Our backs are working really well together, but they're getting good support from up the ground as well."

Longmuir said he was pleased to see ruckman Sean Darcy return and hit the scoreboard, with the big man allowing superstar ruck Luke Jackson to be managed during the fourth quarter with two stints on the bench.

The coach said he remained mindful of Jackson's workloads in the ruck but did not want to disrespect opposition teams by resting him, with the 24-year-old also keen to avoid a week off. 

"It's about looking to do it in-game more than anything, if we get the opportunity," Longmuir said. 

"That's why we made sure Sean's fitness got up to a level in the WAFL before we played him, so that he could be able to handle a little bit more workload as the season unfolds.

"We've just got to try and find the balance between allowing players to maintain their form but also give them a bit of a workload reduction at the right time.

"We'll try and strike that balance."