They won more games than in their previous two seasons combined, but that did little to soothe the pain of a fifth-placed finish for coach Marc Harbrow.
The Cairns City Lions mentor made it clear at the start of the season he wanted his men to play finals and in the end they fell one result short.
A 16.16 (112) to 11.9 (75) loss to North Cairns in round 16 tipped the scales in the Tigers' favour and last year's minor premiers were good enough to hang on to that advantage and take fourth spot.
Six points adrift heading into the final round and out of reach regardless of results, a narrow loss to Manunda Hawks was salt in the wounds for Harbrow in his first full season as head coach.
"I'm very disappointed," he said.
"I wanted to, and the club wanted, to make finals. That was our goal.
"That game against North Cairns was our big focus and that loss was what kicked us out."
The talent-laden squad showed glimpses fo greatness during the season, but long-term injuries to Michael Paul and Tyler Stack, coupled with what Harbrow defined as attitude issues meant they were never at their best for long enough.
"Look at us on the weekend and the boys were able to run forwards in attack but wouldn't do the running in defence," he said.
"You've got to do the gut running and dig deeper than your opponent."
Forced to watch the semi-finals from the sideline this weekend, the older brother of Gold Coast Sun Jarrod has tipped Port Douglas to make waves from third spot. They play North Cairns on Saturday, while South Cairns and Cairns Saints battle for immediate entry to the decider in the other semi-final.
"They (Port) are hitting form, strong in the contests and well-structured," Harbrow said.
"If any team is capable (of winning from third), it's them."
One thing counting against Port is the fact they will be on the road for the remainder of the season, playing at Cazalys where lowly Manunda beat them earlier this season.
"Travel is always a factor for them, but it is for every team that travels to Port, too," Harbrow said.
"If I was them I wouldn't be changing anthing though, they have a game plan that works."
Harbrow did not commit either way to his position next season, saying he would leave it in the club's hands and enjoy the off-season.
Last Modified on 21/01/2015 14:11