The Newcastle Jets may have only finished four points off the bottom of the A-League Women's table again, but importantly they were only five points adrift of the top six.
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In what was the closest competition probably ever, there were a couple of games that would have proven the difference between ninth place and a finals berth for the Jets.
It is likely they will stew on those ones and rue what could have been.
But when the dust settles, the positives will far outweigh the negatives as the Jets look to next season and building on a solid base set this campaign.
Under new coach Stephen Hoyle, who was signed on a two-year deal and brought in eight new players, Newcastle made their best start to an A-League Women's season.
Strike weapon Melina Ayres returned from a year off with a vengeance and could be unstoppable next campaign if she continues how she finished this one.
It was always going to take time for the proven goalscorer to find her feet again at this level, and we probably did not see the best of her until midway through the season.
The 26-year-old ended the campaign with eight goals, including a spectacular volley that will be a strong contender for goal of the year, and was the league's equal-third highest scorer.
Five goals came in the last eight games, including the opener in a heart-breaking 2-1 loss to Melbourne City in Maitland on Sunday.
City scored deep into stoppage time - seven minutes in fact - to seal the win.
But, in a show of what could have been, the Jets went toe-to-toe with the runaway minor premiers in Maitland on Sunday
"That pretty much sums up our season," Ayres told Paramount+ post-match.
"We've fought so hard in games and we've been so close to being where we want to be, and I think it was pretty reflective of our season.
"But I'm proud of us for putting up such a fight, and I guess that's where we need to lift for next season."
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Newcastle finished the season with 23 points after seven wins, two draws and 11 losses in 20 outings.
It was only three more points than last campaign but they played three fewer games. Last year, they were 13 points adrift of the top six.
They scored a similar amount of goals - 30 this year compared to 29 last year - and had the fourth-best attacking record.
The biggest improvement was defence, although it could use some further tightening.
Last season, the Jets were by far the leakiest team in the competition, conceding a whopping 53 goals.
This year they let in just 36. It was the second-worst defensive record but a handful of games blew that statistic out and probably cost them a finals spot.
They included forgettable performances against Central Coast (4-1), Melbourne Victory (3-1), Wellington (5-1) and Brisbane (4-2).
Other than that, they were in every game.
One of the season highlights was a club-first win over City, beating the competition heavyweights 3-1 at AAMI Park on January 16.
The Jets had not beaten the league big guns in 19 previous exchanges and had only once taken a point from them.
"That first game was huge for us at AAMI Park," Ayres said.
"We'd had kind of a disappointing run before that, and we dragged ourselves back and to have that success in that game, first time for the club too, was good to be part of.
"It's just disappointing that we couldn't use the momentum from that game to carry on into the season.
"But it's really positive signs that we are matching it with the best, and we want to play in these big games, and hopefully that means finals for next year."
In good news, Ayres seems intent on staying in Newcastle and helping lead them back to finals.
This year, the Melburnian has rediscovered her love of the game.
"I'm not really sure what happened in the off-season, but I've come back and I love football more than ever, and I'm just really passionate about building this team up, and being the best person and footballer I can be," Ayres said.
"I've tried to work on a lot of different things this year, and glad to score a few goals, but results didn't come as much, so a good base to work off."
She will surely be a key retention target as Hoyle looks to lock down a core group of players to continue building on his first season of coaching in A-League Women.
Attacking sparkplug Josie Allan is the only player already contracted for next season after being re-signed on a two-year deal ahead of this campaign.
Captain and the Jets' most-capped player Cassidy Davis was sidelined for more than half of the season with heel issues, and New Zealand international goalkeeper Anna Leat did not play after January 21 following a concussion. The absence of their experience cannot be understated.
Teenage midfielder Emma Dundas was a standout campaigner in her third season, and became the second-youngest player in the history of the A-League to reach 50 games.
The 18-year-old is one of four Jets players in the Young Matildas squad playing at the AFC under-20 Women's Asian Cup in Thailand along with goalkeeper Georgia Ritchie and attacking players India Breier and Alexis Collins in promising signs for the club's future.
Most players will now turn their focus to playing NPL in Newcastle or Sydney.
