Stuart Dew knows his Gold Coast side can't afford to keep letting teams off the hook.
And, fresh off an AFL hiding from Brisbane last weekend, the coach knows Sunday's opponents North Melbourne will need no second invitation.
After wayward kicking cost the Suns (1-4) in losses to Essendon and then Fremantle, Dew's seeking polish and a commitment to their game plan he maintains is sound.
"We saw some things last week we liked that we need to do for longer," Dew said of the loss to the Dockers.
"We also need to take our chances; twice now we've let teams off the hook with our finishing."
Dew earned a contract extension last year after steering the side from a 2-5 start to within two games of a maiden finals appearance.
He admits the pressure is squarely back on and wants to avoid the need to repeat last year's mid-season revival.
"Our internal dialogue and urgency is right where it needs to be," he said.
"What we do need is to keep it on track this weekend and not project.
"Projections are for everyone else. They don't help us in the short term.
"We expect to win this week. We're certainly not sitting there waiting to replicate last year; we need to try and get one on the board this week."
The Kangaroos began the season with two wins under new coach Alastair Clarkson before tight losses to Carlton and Hawthorn.
The Lions were trailing early before a dominant win that featured a club-record 33 marks inside 50.
"I know what he's like after a performance like that and he'll have them worked up," Dew said of his counterpart.
He said co-captain and ruckman Jarrod Witts remained in doubt with back soreness, while the club had taken notes when the chips were similarly down last year.
"I think we, as a footy department, maintained belief," he said.
"Sitting around having meetings and talking about it doesn't fix it, it's getting out there and doing the work.
"And narrowing the focus.
"Last year we were 2-5 heading into Sydney and Fremantle who were flying ... we were probably the only ones that backed us to win those two games and we got it done.
"We've shown we can do it, we just need to make sure we've got that urgency this week."
