The Nagambie coach was wondering what went wrong.
After 13 minutes and no score in the opening term, the Lakers kicked the opening major of the match, striking fear into the eye of a confident Lancaster side.
But as the minutes ticked by things fell apart significantly.
A dejected Muir solemnly described how the wheels had fallen off, relaying the sting of getting to the grand final only to be outgunned and outmanned for three quarters.
“It started well, just probably our work rate dropped off and they made the most of it,” he said.
“They use the footy well and they’re a well drilled side ― they’re the benchmark of the comp for a reason.
“Everyone is chasing them, we were just not quite good enough.”
Losing a grand final undoubtedly stings and by 65 points, even more so.
But the Lakers’ insurance policy is their youth, with the long list of bright sparks among the ranks leading Muir to believe success may not be too far down the track.
“We’ve got a lot of blokes under 21, hopefully they can stick together,” he said.
“We’re probably 12 months behind Lancaster in that we’ve been building for a year and for a couple of years they’ve probably been building.
“The blokes will stick together, it’s something they can really learn from and get some experience from.”
Muir was impressed by the games of Tom Barnes, Trent Gladwin and David Comi, but conceded his Lakers lacked the polish to beat a stacked Lancaster side.
Forever chasing excellence, the Nagambie mentor said his side would regroup, recruit and return to give Kyabram District League a good shake in 2024.
“We probably need a couple more players just to add to it,” he said.
“I’m still proud of the effort for the season, but we just need to get a little bit better yet.”
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