Tasmania can be proud of its achievements in the domestic one-day arena, but needs to toughen-up if it's to improve its standing in the Sheffield Shield, according to stand-in captain Tim Paine.
Promoted to the captaincy on match-eve when George Bailey was called-up for national duty, Paine was hurting after presiding over Tasmania's final battle for 2009-2010, an innings mauling at the hands of Shield leaders Victoria.
The loss consigned the Tigers to fifth-place in the competition, just one point clear of wooden spooners, South Australia.
Paine said the ups, which included a win over the Vics in the Ford Ranger Cup final, didn't quite balance the downs over the course of the season.
"We played very good one-day cricket throughout the year," said Paine.
"I suppose that's something we can hang our hat on for the year - we've won a premiership which is more than a lot of other states have done."
"We're absolutely rapt with the way that went, but our Shield cricket and twenty20 cricket were very disappointing."
"We've just got to learn to play tough (Shield) cricket, good cricket for longer periods."
"We've shown during the year we can do it for a session, or an hour or a day, we just haven't done it for a full match this year."
"In first-class cricket against good sides like Victoria, Queensland, New South Wales if you can't do it for long periods, you've going to get the same result we got today."
Paine, who was Tasmania's best and most effective batsman in both innings against the Bushrangers despite a side strain picked-up during the first innings, said the game plan had been to make the Vics work hard for the win.
Trailing by 160 runs on the first innings, he said the Tigers wanted to apply enough pressure to at least take the match into a fourth day.
But after spiralling to 6-15 on Friday morning in the face of some hostile bowling from Damien Wright and Darren Pattinson, there was no coming back.
"They bowled okay and we batted poorly, to be honest," said Paine.
"I suppose we've only got ourselves to blame."
"I don't think on that wicket it was about digging in, it wasn't a tough wicket to bat on."
"It was just about applying yourself and we've got the players in the room that, if they wanted to do it today, they could."
"I'm not sure what happened, to be honest."
Not surprisingly, Paine fancies the Bushrangers to successfully defend their title when they take the field in the Shield final against Queensland starting next Wednesday.
"They're definitely the favourites," Paine said.
"At the MCG, they play the ground and the wicket very well here, I'm sure they'll be hard to beat."