St Kilda coach Ross Lyon was left with "nothing to be happy about" in the aftermath of his side's one-point loss to GWS, expressing a disappointment with his side's attacking efficiency.
The Saints booted the last six goals of the game to fall just short of ending the Giants' undefeated start to the season, with Lyon's side doubling their goal tally for the game in the final term alone.
Lyon was left to rue another slow start to a game, with the Saints down by five goals heading into the fourth stanza before flicking a switch and getting themselves within arm's reach.
Speaking after the loss, Lyon acknowledged the efforts of leadership pair Jack Steele and Callum Wilkie, along with the late impact of sub and debutant Hugo Garcia, but overall said he struggled to take many positives away from the loss.
"It's a mixed bag, isn't it? Nothing to be happy about," Lyon said post-game.
"We're in a professional national league wanting to win games. We came with a plan, we overplayed stuff at times. They were really sharp early, which we know they can be.
"We were gifting them some goals and not taking some at the other end. Our group never gives up, we learnt from frustrating but valuable lessons. It's a mental game.
"I'm a bit frustrated, but I thought our leaders really stood up. Wilkie was very good, Jack Steele is in really good nick. We were also thrilled with some of our kids. It's interesting.
"Glass half-full? Glass half-empty? I don't know, we'll just take the feedback. This is what good looks like, this is what poor looks like. We want more good."
The Saints posted an inside 50 efficiency rating of just 44.2% compared to the Giants' 56.3%, with Lyon's plans to play as a front-half side leaving the Saints boss underwhelmed.
The Saints took 14 marks inside attacking 50 for an overall return of 19 scoring shots, with the travelling side unable to get a majority of ideal looks on goal throughout.
"We're far from happy," Lyon said of his side's front-half efficiencies.
"We have moments, we're very inconsistent. We score as well as anyone from defensive-mid, forward 50 we're good, D-50 we're okay.
"Our attacking-mid possession game has been a reasonable number. We're working on that, it's frustrating. Our stoppage work was better today.
"We're pretty clear on what we're working on, but our front-half retention and getting the ball back was poor."
Further souring the defeat was the loss of star forward Max King, who hurt his knee late into the third term and was subbed out of the game at the final break.
King, who Lyon noted to be a "victim" of his side's poor forward 50 entries, will undergo scans on the injury as the Saints await to learn the full extent of the potential setback.
"He just wrenched his knee a bit," Lyon said.
"They'll scan it. There's no ligament damage. Hopefully comes up [good].
"He was a victim of our ball use."
St Kilda, who sit 12th on the ladder with a 2-3 record, will return to Melbourne to face the Western Bulldogs at Marvel Stadium on Thursday night.
