“IT REALLY hurts at the moment.”

Carlton CEO Brian Cook was frank in his assessment of the emotions running through IKON Park, following the Club’s heartbreaking one-point loss to the Magpies on Sunday afternoon.

“We went back to IKON Park last night - families, players, staff - and we were all devastated,” Cook told SEN Breakfast.

“We wanted to play finals footy and fought really hard to do that, but we were unsuccessful.”

Emotion aside, Cook acknowledge that in moments that mattered greater accountability was required.

“In the end, when it comes down to it, we threw away a couple of games, we didn’t play well in the key moments and the most accountable moments, and we have to live with that.”

While disappointment remains the overwhelming feeling at present, Cook echoed the post-match sentiment of Senior Coach Michael Voss, in recognising the motivating nature of the result.

“I don’t think we’ll forget about this moment, hopefully it will be a motivator for us in the years to come,” he said.

“Whilst at the time it’s devastating, these moments do build resilience.

“As long as we can learn from what’s happened in the last couple of weeks in particular, then it’s worthwhile.”

Cook also praised Voss for his handling of the situation.

“Last night ‘Vossy’ just took a deep breath, he mingled with people last night, he was social – I wouldn’t say he had a smile on his face, but he acted very responsibly and as a good leader, as he does.

“One thing Michael is, is an excellent leader. He manages his people really well, including the players.

“At times we all need to act as a leader, even though we may not feel like it – we have to give that impression that we’re bigger than this and we’ll get over this and we’re going to be resilient about what we see in the future.”

While difficult to shift focus to positives yet, Cook was adamant that the framework for what is required to compete are certainly there.

“It’s obvious, from my point of view, that we showed through some real capability through the year,” he said.

“We beat four of the top-eight sides, we got beaten by less than a goal three times – twice to Collingwood and once to Melbourne. The only time I felt we were really outclassed was against Geelong and Brisbane.

“There’s capability there and there’s talent there and we just need to round that off and improve in those really accountable moments in the future.”