For Essendon coach Brad Scott, it was the word 'frustrating' that was front of mind as his side's one point loss to Gold Coast.
The Bombers sit ninth, two points behind Carlton and the Western Bulldogs, but with matches against Sydney and Brisbane to close out the season.
"It's pretty obvious how everyone's feeling," Scott said.
"For all of our supporters, it's just extremely frustrating, and you can come up with all sorts of words to describe it, but you're obviously disappointed. But that doesn't help anything."
His side's poor conversion in the final quarter, although ultimately the difference in the game, was a sign that the 2024 edition of Essendon is able to create opportunities for itself to win. Now, it just comes down to taking those chances," Scott said.
"In that last quarter, when you know that the ball's in your front half 84 per cent of the quarter and you have 19 inside 50s to eight, you have 11 scoring shots to two, you're giving yourself opportunity," Scott said.
"That's the hardest thing in footy. The execution comes with practice."