GOLD Coast coach Damien Hardwick has conceded his side's finals hopes are all but gone following a seventh straight loss.

"End of the day, we've got six weeks, this year is effectively gone, what we've got to do is forge our way forward about what we want ourselves to look like for next year, from my point of view," Hardwick said following the 79-point loss to Adelaide on Saturday.

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"The way we're playing, we don't deserve to make it."

They were "beaten up" around the midfield in the face of Adelaide's clearance strength and immense pressure, a far cry from the Gold Coast onball brigade that led the side to a maiden finals series last year.

"(We) just got belted up around the ball, thought that pressure – credit to Adelaide – that pressure and that contested ball stuff is as good as we've played against this year. To be perfectly honest, we just couldn't handle (it), then got belted at clearance," Hardwick said.

"All in all, contest-wise, we just got absolutely blown off the park. That's the most disappointing thing, you can't get any phase of your game up and going if you get that badly beaten in contests."

Hardwick became the second coach of the year to have an interaction with opposition fans on the walk to the ground at three-quarter time, reinvigorating questions around the layout of Adelaide Oval for coaches.

"Walking through here, and I understand people are going to say stuff, and I've got to be better, but end of the day, those sorts of people are the guys that live in their mum's basements and type on bloody social media forums and all that sort of stuff," Hardwick said.

"I've got to be better, like I said, but we've got to do something about it. It's a dangerous position to put us in, first and foremost, security is OK, but we don't need people being peanuts about it. Get out of the basement, mate."

Adelaide coach Matthew Nicks labelled the incidents "disappointing", calling for the home fans to minimise such interactions.

"I don't think any coach should have to put up with that, and I don't know the ins and outs, I've obviously heard talk about it, but for a coach to be subject to abuse – if it is abuse – I mean I'd say to our members and our fans, we're not here for that," Nicks said.

"We're here to enjoy watching a great game of footy, and our boys put on a show tonight, so just enjoy it… You'd like to think we don't have to take that away, because there are some, I guess, plusses that come with that when your team's up and performing well."

Regarding the win, which has pushed Adelaide into the top four and boosted the side's percentage, it was the consistency from siren to siren that Nicks was happiest to see.

"Just the discipline, the mental strength we showed to stick to it for an entire four-quarter performance. It was as good as we've been all year, and yes, off the back of that came pressure, because we were just in positions where we could bring it," Nicks explained.

"We didn't make a lot of mistakes where we were going away from what the team needed. We were very disciplined with the way we played, so an area we've been trying to work on. So, I couldn't be more pleased as a coach."

Nicks is hopeful that an ankle injury to Rory Laird "is not a bad one" but conceded that they will sweat on scans.

Meanwhile, Gold Coast's Will Graham is "probably done for the year" according to Hardwick, after a shoulder dislocation.