Mustangs coach Luke Boyle wasn't pulling punches, even though he was without some key men in the loss to Hills last weekend.

"Jack and Connor Edwards were at their sister's wedding, and Scott McGann rolled his ankle at training," Boyle said.

"So we certainly went in below full strength. It meant we were forced to play Terrell Turner a lot longer than I'd have liked, because he's still underdone after injury.

"But I still expect better than what we put up. It was poor, there's no hiding from that.

"And it means we're none from two - both were matches I thought we could win - and now we have a run of tough games ahead."

Boyle has sat down and gone through the tape with his players and admits it was some painful viewing.

"We had a lot of players who were awful together on the one day. We must have missed a dozen lay-ups. It was quite incredible.

"It was a game where no-one stepped up and we were putting too much pressure on Dan Millburn to do the scoring."

This week Maitland are away to Central Coast who have also yet to record a win but have been tough in both games against strong opposition.

"We've spoken about things and gone through the tape ... I'm expecting to see a reaction," Boyle said. "The intensity was good at training, so we'll see."