Describing his emotions as "disappointed but not that disappointed", the forward coached a lot of up-and-coming youth this year.

"We've got a lot of blokes that played senior footy for the first time this year and it's just about a learning curve - you can't get grand final experience without playing in them," he said.

"It was probably the best thing for us going forward having those young blokes play, they might not get a chance next year or they might but they are going to be better for the experience.

NTFA FINALS FEVER

"There's a lot of different aspects to the game of football which these young fellas are going to learn from today."

Reflecting on the contest afterwards, the performance of Jordan Cousens was enough to put a smile on Cox-Goodyer's face with his star player named Rocherlea's best on ground.

"He's getting back to his best. After missing most of last year with that knee and only playing two [games], he had a decent pre-season.

"He sort of wasn't going to play this year because of the knee but you just see how good of a footballer he is.

"He really stands out in this comp, he's obviously a class above but he gives his heart week in week out, he really wants to do well for the footy club and you can't ask much more of the kid."

Vice-captain Luke Richards and the retiring Lyndon Stubbs joined Cousens in the side's best.