The Roosters, who were the big improvers this year, could not recapture the form that saw them push Port Fairy all the way in the first week of finals and were overwhelmed by a red-hot Cobden outfit in Sunday’s first semi-final.

The Roosters trailed by two goals at quarter-time, nearly five at the main break and a touch under six at the final change.

They went on to lose by 41 points after some consolation goals late in the game – the Bombers’ lead had been out to 53 points.

“Cobden played really well, they outplayed us,” Buck said.

“That happens in big finals: you’ve got to turn up and unfortunately we just couldn’t get the job done today.

“We really thought we had our opportunities in the first half, we just didn’t capitalise. Whether that’s the big game, or maybe our technique in big moments just didn’t stack up, (but) that’s something I’m sure we’ll look at over the pre-season.”

The recently re-signed Roosters mentor was very measured post-game, and labelled season 2017 – which saw the Roosters climb back into finals and secure the double chance – a success.

“It’s another building block on what we want to achieve,” Buck said.

“We probably jumped a little higher than we thought we would this year. We’ll certainly take that.

“It’s unfortunate not to win a final, but 2017 was a success, definitely.”