IT WAS at the contest that Sydney was soundly beaten by Brisbane in Saturday's 60-point Toyota AFL Grand Final loss.
Despite only losing the contested possession count by two, and narrowly coming out on top in clearances, Sydney's ability to pressure the Lions with ball in hand was lacking.
SWANS v LIONS Full Grand Final match coverage and stats
"I think our pressure and our contest wasn't up to the same level that they had it to, particularly in that second quarter and in finals, or grand finals. If you don't match or win the contest you don't win the game," Errol Gulden said post-match.
Poor starts in games became a theme across Sydney's season this year, with the side typically able to work back into control after the first break.
But the reverse was true on Saturday, as the Swans trailed by just eight points at quarter-time, only to capitulate in the second term.
"That second quarter they dialled the pressure and the contested work right up and unfortunately we couldn't go with them," stand-in captain Dane Rampe said.
"The starts have been a big thing all year and theirs have been just as impressive in the other way. We matched them there (in) that first quarter. Great sides just turn it up when they need to, and we couldn't do that. So, hurts, but that's just the way it is."
Brisbane controlled the game with uncontested marks and took it away from Sydney in the space of 15 minutes.
"It was pretty much our pressure, which was at 158. I don’t know the last time we would have done that to be honest, we've probably never done it in our career, so that's pretty much what it was," Chad Warner said.
"Obviously they were really good at absorbing our pressure and then the way they were able to take a lot of uncontested marks, the more the ball was in the air and uncontested marking, obviously the less pressure you can put on, but we still had opportunities."
It was an unexpected result for the Swans, who felt better prepared for the match than they did back in 2022, when they lost the decider to Geelong by 81 points.
"Unfortunately, I've been in this position a few times, I'm completely at peace with our prep, which is what makes it so hollow, is that we don't know where we went wrong," Rampe said, having lost all four of his Grand Final appearances.
"We'll lick our wounds and have a look at it and figure out how to go again. What I know about this group and this club is that we'll fight like buggery to get back there."
Warner, who was Sydney's best player in that 2022 Grand Final, struggled to have his typical, big-game impact despite feeling well-equipped for the challenge.
"The funny thing is, we actually started well for once. I don't think we could have prepped any better, mentally we went into the game great, physically as well… the footy gods had something else to say," Warner said.
"It's obviously similar, but I think this time it's a lot worse. Coming in I felt a lot more prepared than last time. I felt like we came to win a lot more than last time as well so, it's a lot worse."
But his outlook going forward is that dwelling on the poor performance won't help the club work itself back out of the mire.
"At the end of the day, life goes on, it's not the end of the world," Warner said.
"It's going to be a long year next year, obviously the work we've done this year to get to this spot is tiring, but I think we've shown, the Swans have shown as well, that we can back it up. Reality is, you're not going to get anywhere by sitting there and saying woe is me."
