Western Force coach Simon Cron has lamented their inability to finish opportunities as their finals hopes took a big hit against the Blues.
The Force had close to 60% possession and territory but couldn't find a way through, losing 40-19 to the defending champions.
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They trailed by five heading into half-time before a strong second-half delivered the win for the defending champions.
"We made a few too many errors in that first half. It felt like we dropped the ball going over the line or knocked it on just before the try line, so we created enough opportunities in that first half," coach Simon Cron said
"In the second half, obviously, the set-piece was a bit of a problem for us at scrum time. I think they had someone just quote that they had 17 scrums, we had none, so what that tells you is skill execution was not good enough.
"...It's really important for us to take away that (bonus) point, and we've got to do better there in that moment."
It leaves the Force outside the top six, with a tough run home that includes the Brumbies, an away trip to Fiji and the Waratahs.
"For us, you've got to look at what's critical this week and what we need to fix," Cron noted.
"Our catch in the wet conditions, we've got to be much better in the air and then at scrum time, we've got a couple of young guys there as well. We're a few loose heads down at the moment and that's their first go.
"We've just got to give them as much confidence as we can and help them every week during the week and make them better at that so that we're not ending up in the corner."
One of the positive moments for the Force was the return of Kurtley Beale, scoring after recovering from an Achilles injury.
"I thought he played really well tonight," Cron added.
He was really clean under the high ball, made good decisions, and carried back when he needed to. He'll be better for that game.
"He's an amazing voice in the back of the field, and one of the areas for us we're constantly working on is our communication on field and when the ball's in play, and he gives that. So, he gives the boys a lot of confidence."
