Coach Michael Brookens was disappointed in their costly second term, in which they were outscored by 17 points and forfeited any chance of a win after a strong start.

“We started well, and we played well for the second half so we need to work on getting a consistent defensive effort,” Brookens said.

“We let them off the chain in the second and couldn’t recover, it was always going to be tough to come back from 19 points down at half-time.”

Chantella Perera was particularly damaging for the Cobras, shooting a game-high 30 points.

Brookens said the absence of Montana Farrah-Seaton was felt when Perera took control of the game, with the teenager set to spend the next month overseas with the national under-19 squad.

“We needed someone to step up defensively with Montana out of the side, and that didn’t happen quickly enough,” Brookens said.

“There’s room for someone to step up and play that defensive role, and also try and get seven or eight points a game for us.

“After a good start, we had a false sense of security and got exposed for it.

“Being able to scratch and claw your way to the ball is an instinct we need to develop in the coming weeks.”

Carly McRae played well off the bench, scoring seven points and doing well to stem the bleeding, but the team as whole continued to struggle for accuracy.

“Our accuracy still isn’t good enough, but it’s our defensive intensity that needs to lift,” Brookens said.

“There has to come a time when we see some leadership on the court and the side gets together and steps up.

“We’re having 80 points scored against us on a regular basis, it’s hard to win games with that kind of scoreline.

“Outside of that poor second period, there’s a few positives for us to take out of this.”

Brookens said this weekend’s double header would be a chance to see if his team had taken the past fortnight’s lessons to heart.

“We fall short of the top eight teams at the moment, so this weekend will be a good measuring stick in terms of whether or not we’ve improved,” he said.