BRISBANE threw the kitchen sink at North Melbourne, and it still wasn't enough.
The Lions spent nine weeks crafting a game style to compete with the Roos on the biggest day of the year, and still fell by 40 points. Ultimately it was the second-greatest losing margin in AFLW Grand Final history, as North Melbourne piled on the second-highest score in a decider.
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"(North) were really, really good with absorbing pressure. We thought we threw the kitchen sink at them from a pressure point of view, and then they just ramped that up again in the second quarter," Brisbane coach Craig Starcevich said post-game.
"It was like 'Whoa'. The level just kept going up and up. But their ability to get from something that looks like a really nasty, contested situation, and then get it quickly out by hand, and then someone out in space and they're gone is elite. Like, seriously elite. So, full credit to them because there's always someone there waiting for it, and they trust each other."
There was a key moment in the second quarter where experienced defender Shannon Campbell gave North forward Kate Shierlaw an unnecessary shove following a mark to the latter. The shove gave away a 50m penalty, and then Shannon's insistence on continuing the scuffle as they ran resulted in another penalty paid.
It walked Shierlaw to the goal line for an easy set shot, creating a turning point in the game.
"Watching the game back is going to be painful viewing for a couple of them, because there were some monumental blunders there along the way, with giving away 50s and so forth," Starcevich said.
"But that happens in a footy person's career. You just don't want it to happen in the really big game. They're great people, our people, so they'll absorb it, and it'll be really hard. You'll have to sit with it for months before you can get back and rectify things. So, that's just life as a footballer."
It is the second consecutive year Brisbane has ended up on the losing side of North Melbourne's premiership dream, and the fifth Grand Final loss from seven appearances. The club has learned to bounce back, time and time again.
"We just said to them downstairs, you know, this is going to hurt, and it's going to hurt some individuals more than others, but as a group and a collective, our footy club is super strong and it's a great place to work and great place to come and train. So, that doesn't change, we keep showing up at the big dance in both our programs," Starcevich said.
"So, that's a real strong point, but we just said to the group tonight, we just refuse to be upset about life tonight. Just refuse to be annoyed with things, and just get on with life and be happy and move onto the next challenge. But that's easier said than done, but that's you're only way forward, really. Just to put on a brave face and move forward."
Starcevich admitted there was a skill gap at play between his Brisbane list and that of North Melbourne, as the Roos sliced down the field to heap pressure on the Lions' defence.
"If I think back to the end of the third quarter there, where we had two really good looks going forward and we coughed the ball up, I'm thinking what a difference that would have made… so, those little moments are key parts of the game that we should have capitalised on. Clearly the 50 metre penalties didn't help, but stuff like that, that opens the gap up. The gap shouldn't be six or so goals, the game should be more like a two-to-four-goal game," Starcevich said.
"It's being able to execute under the higher, intense pressure and speed of the game that (North's) really good at at the moment… playing high tempo games and high-pressure games helps."
