Carlton senior coach Michael Voss expressed his disappointment while reflecting on his side's promising campaign after the Blues were bounced from the finals by the Brisbane Lions on Saturday at the Gabba.
Storming from 15th on the ladder to qualifying for the finals and reaching the penultimate weekend of the season, the Blues shocked many but weren't able to get over the Lions, who catapulted after a sluggish first quarter to set up a Grand Final meeting with Collingwood next weekend.
Voss spoke to the media post-game on Saturday night, lamenting where his side fell short of Fagan's men after quarter-time.
"We lost some critical contests ... We just weren't able to get that ascendency back, so that was probably it from the first quarter to the second quarter," Voss said. "They (Brisbane) took their opportunities, and we were fighting it out for the second and third (quarters), [I] thought we had a good shot at it in the last."
While Voss said the Blues will "sit with the disappointment", he also told the story of Carlton's "collective shift" after a worrying start to the 2023 season.
"We'll sit with the disappointment," continued Voss. "I think if you asked me this question 14 weeks ago, it's probably a completely different answer, but as the season unfolded and as our form [came] together, we sort of had that really collective shift together.
"It seemed like we could certainly compete against the best teams in the competition, the last couple of weeks only really reinforced that in our own minds, so we come up here with a real goal to obviously get this job done and we've fallen short, so we're extremely disappointed.
"We came up here thinking our best was good enough, [but] credit to Brisbane, they bounced after the first quarter, [they're] a side who's probably been at this a little longer than us in terms of opportunities like this (in the finals).
"They were able to correct themselves, steady themselves, and able to turn the game around."
The 1996 Brownlow Medallist, having returned to the scene of some of his greatest playing triumphs, declared his pride in his Blues for showcasing their ability to make a September run, though maintained his disappointment in falling one step short of the big dance.
"So, for a first shot at it (making a run in the finals), it's obviously good, but I think the goal was clear for us [and] we've fallen short of it," Voss said.
"We're pretty disappointed with it."
The 48-year-old, who starred for the Brisbane Bears and Lions during his 289-game playing career and later coached the Queensland club, claimed there was no better learning experience for the Blues than to have their premiership dream ripped away before even having the chance to play for it.
"I think our story is well and truly enough, and we get to lean back in on that, but no matter what story I tell and no matter what experience I can share, feeling [that] hurt and feeling like you're close and feeling like you're getting an opportunity and having that ripped away from you, there's no better experience than that," Voss said.
"So, what I hope it turns into is that we're a hungry football club and we're a hungry football team, and we want to figure at this end of the season more often to give ourselves that chance."
Following their progression on Saturday, Brisbane now prepares for a blockbuster Grand Final meeting against Collingwood; 20 years on from the date the two storied clubs did battle in the 2003 decider.
