A 52-point loss to the Magpies ended the Lions' best ever start to an AFL season on Thursday and gave the defending champions a long weekend to ponder what went wrong.
"And it didn't sit well," Neale said on Tuesday.
"Probably exposed a couple of things in our game that are not quite at the level required at the moment.
"But we've known for the whole six weeks we're not absolutely flying."
Brisbane slipped to 5-1 with the loss and now face a St Kilda (3-3) side fresh off a 71-point mauling from Western Bulldogs, in Melbourne on Saturday.
"It was a long weekend to sit and stew on it and hopefully we come out and play with a bit more energy and fire against St Kilda," Neale said.
"They'll be saying the same thing themselves after a big loss so it should be a good contest at Marvel (Stadium) where they've been playing some great footy."
Neale and his midfielders were well beaten at the stoppages on Thursday, the two-time Brownlow Medallist admitting their contested work had been inconsistent all season.
"And I spoke about our team defence not being quite up to scratch … that'll be put to the test this weekend under the roof," he said of the side's other key focus.
"I was obviously coached by Ross (Lyon, at Fremantle) for a long time and his teams are always very hard to play against."
Asked if he expected Marcus Windhager to tag him on Saturday, Neale cheekily suggested St Kilda may be better off focusing on his in-form midfield partner Hugh McCluggage.
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