South Sydney captain Cameron Murray failed to hide his disappointment after the Rabbitohs were left to reflect on another opportunity to claim an NRL premiership passing them by.
The Rabbitohs' wait for a title will continue into 2023 after they capitulated against Penrith on Saturday night to lose 32-12 at Accor Stadium.
Murray, hooker Damien Cook and five-eighth Cody Walker have reached the last five preliminary finals but have been unable to convert their success into premierships.
Last season they were pipped by Penrith in the grand final, but after racing to a 12-0 lead after half an hour against the Panthers, they lost direction and their hopes of claiming a title this year went up in smoke.
"It doesn't get any easier, coming up short every year," Murray said.
"It probably gets harder, to be honest.
"I don't have much to say, it's pretty disappointing. We knew we would have had to be close to perfect to get them and we fell short."
Souths were left to rue a five-minute period before halftime when they were in cruise control and could have added a field goal to truly turn up the heat on the Panthers.
Instead, the Rabbitohs made errors by playing expansively and Penrith were able to nab two tries and gain a foothold in the game just before the break.
With Melbourne and the Sydney Roosters out of the finals picture and Parramatta - a team the Rabbitohs have dominated in recent seasons - awaiting them in the grand final, the Bunnies arguably won't get a better chance than this year.
"It's probably been the story of our year," said Souths coach Jason Demetriou.
"We just ran out of troops. We did a great job for the first half but we weren't able to maintain it.
"It (the period before halftime) was huge. To beat this team (Penrith), you've got to be able to stay at it for 80 minutes and be disciplined."
After an impressive first year, the test of Demetriou's coaching will be whether he can ensure the Rabbitohs finally capitalise on their ability to go deep into the finals campaign.
"I think there is a gap and it's as much mental as it is physical and it's something we'll be looking at over the off-season," Demetriou said.
"There's a few boys in that team who will be so much better for this next season.
"Lachlan Ilias, Isaiah Tass, Izaac Thompson, who didn't play tonight (Saturday), they've got a taste of first grade this year that will come through and be even better for it next year."
SOUTHS' LAST FIVE SEASONS
2018 - Finished 3rd - preliminary final (12-4 loss to the Sydney Roosters)
2019 - Finished 3rd - preliminary final (16-10 loss to the Canberra Raiders)
2020 - Finished 6th - preliminary final (20-16 loss to the Penrith Panthers)
2021 - Finished 3rd - grand final (12-10 loss to the Penrith Panthers)
2022 - Finished 7th - preliminary final (32-12 loss to the Penrith Panthers)
Australian Associated Press
