Otago slumped to the bottom of the ladder in the ITM Cup after it lost 35-22 to Wellington at Carisbrook on Saturday night, racking up its third-straight loss of the season.
Otago was its own worst enemy, making too many basic errors against a Wellington team, which wasted plenty of chances but had enough class in its side to run out the winner.
Mooney cut a frustrated figure after the game, saying his side was a lot more skilful than it showed against the Lions.
"There was probably a period, say 25 minutes in the second half and 15 minutes in the first half, where literally every time we got the ball we gave it back to them," he said.
"We did not kick it out, we lost our lineout. We just gave them too much ball. We scrambled well in defence but it was far more often than it needed to.
"Just by virtue of the fact they had the ball, we would resist them, then get the ball and give it straight back."
Mooney felt the side had to get out and back itself.
"One thing we just need to be better at - we just need to play football.
"We can't basically go into our shell, and then when it is a lost cause show what we are capable of.
"It is almost like an attitude of we don't want to lose whereas we need to go out with an attitude of we want to win.
'The boys are more skilled than they showed. We need to be resilient now and front up."
Otago took an early lead in the match, scoring a try after 39 seconds but suffered from poor possession and option taking.
Halfback Sean Romans is clearly struggling for form while outside him first five-eighth Glenn Dickson was a mixed bag.
His failure to find the line twice from penalty kicks was a huge black mark on his game.
The side now faces a run of six games which are winnable, but will ultimately make or break its season.
Otago starts with a match against North Harbour at North Harbour stadium on Thursday night.
Mooney said with a five-day turnaround and injuries mounting the side faced a crunch few days.
"It's a real test of everyone's character. We've got a five-day turnaround, but we knew that at the start of the year. The next five days are pretty important.
"The season can go two ways. It is important we still stand and fight. I think we just need to be more aggressive and assertive with what we do."
Winger Ryan Shortland did not make the starting line-up on Saturday night due to a calf injury and his replacement Joe Hill was concussed while attempting a tackle.
Fullback Chris Small left the field with a hip flexor injury, leaving a shortage in the outside backs.
In other games on Saturday, Auckland won a dour struggle in the wet against Bay of Plenty 11-6 in Mt Maunganui, while Southland retained the Ranfurly Shield with a close 13-9 win over Counties-Manakau.
On Friday night, Canterbury easily disposed of North Harbour 44-22 in Christchurch while Tasman scored its first win of the season, with a 21-7 win over Hawkes Bay in Blenheim on Thursday night.
Yesterday, Northland smashed Manawatu 77-8 in Whangarei, while Taranaki beat Waikato 33-23 in Hamilton.
