Senior Coach Brad Scott says his Bombers side were left disappointed after missing some key opportunities against Gold Coast on Saturday afternoon, albeit with a sense of optimism from their tenacity through the day. 

Scott highlighted the strong effort and intent from the playing group, but noted the opposition capitalised better in key moments, reinforcing the need to sustain performance over four quarters.

A full rundown of the post-match presser:

Scott on... missed opportunity and effort

We’re disappointed. We put ourselves in the contest right from the outset, and the game ebbed and flowed. 

There were periods where we had it on our terms and periods where they had it on their terms, and they were able to capitalise on their moments just a fraction better than we were.

For a large part we executed what we wanted to do, we just couldn’t get it done across the whole game. 

The fight in the group was there and I was really pleased with that , but we want to progress pretty quickly from that to finishing off the job.

Scott on... progress 

There’s no doubt we’re a work in progress. 

We’re working really hard to bridge the gap between where we are and a team, who, on their day with their best personnel available, are really high quality.

We’ve got a lot of work to do, we know that, but over the last couple of weeks there have been things where you think, ‘that’s what we want to look like’. 

Fans can see what we’re going to look like sooner rather than later. 

Scott on... improved pressure and fundamentals

Nothing’s changed in terms of what we’re training and coaching - it’s just been a re-focus on the things that are really important in the game. 

Contest work and pressure, and for a large part today that was pretty good.

Our ability to connect a little bit more with ball in hand has improved. 

Earlier in the year we were turning the ball over in some horrible spots and getting scored against, and that makes it very hard to stay competitive. 

We’ve tidied that up over the last couple of weeks.

Scott on... midfield battle

I thought we were okay in centre bounce, but they still had six or seven scoring shots from there, which was a challenge for us. 

They’re (Gold Coast SUNS) a potent side - you give them opportunity and they make you pay.

Every time we looked like we might be able to put a gap on the scoreboard, they were able to respond with a couple of terrific individual efforts.

Scott on... emerging young talent

It’s probably hard for us to contain our excitement about our young players. 

We’ve played all five draftees already, and we think they’re going to be players.

When you look at the last three drafts, players like Roberts, Caddy, Kako and this year’s group, they’re all part of our side at the moment. 

That presents some challenges in the short term, but genuine excitement for what we’re building.

Scott on... Archie Roberts 

He’s a real competitor. 

We rated him really highly on draft night and traded up to pick him, so it’s pleasing to see that being rewarded.

His development at the moment is continuing on a pretty steep upward curve. 

He has been terrific.

Scott on... defensive stability, Jordan Ridley 

We’re slowly putting our back six back together, which we haven’t been able to do for a three or four-year period, and that’s really helped.

Ridley coming off early in the second half hurt that a little bit. 

He had a tight calf and we’ve taken a no-risk approach with him. 

Fingers crossed he’s okay, but we don’t know yet.