Sydney coach Dean Cox believes his club needs to bottle the positivity following the surprise win over reigning premier Brisbane and channel it into the preliminary final clash in a fortnight.
Cox stopped short of saying it was beyond his imagination, but said it was the most complete performance Sydney has played during his two seasons as coach.
"I'm extremely proud of everyone at the footy club," Cox said.
"To deliver a performance like that against a team that was in the form they were in was a sign of a galvanised group who was hungry to show they were capable.
"(It was) probably (my best win) with the quality they have and the match-winners all over the ground.
"Around centre bounce was what we wanted to do and to Brodie, Jai, Errol, James, Angus, it is a different looking midfield but they spent time in the last two weeks going through things to quell the influence of the Brisbane midfield and the ability to then get it in our front half and air and ground were a big threat for Brisbane and we needed to make sure we neutralised those and gave ourselves opportunities."
Cox said he was cautious with the messaging given to the young players entering the line up playing in their first final to maximise their output, as well as those such as James Rowbottom given extra responsibility due to the absence of the stars.
Rowbottom played a critical negating role on Lachie Neale, while Angus Sheldrick, Harry Kyle and Jesse Dattoli, in particular, both had important moments.
"One thing I didn't want to do was put any extra pressure on the players who were playing and the ability to make sure our leaders led in the right way which they did, it's not about doing more than they have to do and give young players confidence they are ready for the opportunity and they grabbed it with both hands," Cox said.
"I think we always had faith in the talent on our list and youth we had."
Cox also poured praise on Logan McDonald following arguably a career-best six goal game playing on star defender Harris Andrews.
"He's as clever a footballer as i've seen and that's what you have to be if you're taking on Harris," Cox said.
"Because the way he sets up their backline and the ability to intercept but also to control everything behind the ball is crucial to them and we had to nullify that in some way.
"Logan was smart enough to come up with a plan and execute it in a way we were after."
