Coach Dan Roden said his team stood toe-to-toe with the 2020 competition's fiercest team.

"The Hawks are the best team in the competition and we feel like we were the best team to have a crack at them, but the better team stood up," he said.

"They were the benchmark all year and are absolutely deserving winners tonight.

"We threw everything at them, and they won. I'm so proud of our girls, we went down fighting."

While the final score was 75-64, the majority of the game felt closer with the Hawks rarely getting more than six points ahead of the Cavs.

"We gave ourselves every opportunity to win today so I think that's a real credit to the girls and the effort they've put in and the whole team around them," Roden said.

IN OTHER NEWS:

"What you've go to do is enjoy the moment, from the point of view that we're in a grand final."

Roden said overall his team had accomplished much in 2020.

He said now was a time to reflect on what the team got right in 2020 and reload for another finals push in 2021.

"At the end of the day we started the season without a circle defence, and here we are finding ourselves in the grand final," he said.

"Yes, it's disappointing that we lost but ... we had a great season and it's our second grand final in two years so there's a lot to be proud of."