That’s all she wrote for the Fort McMurray Monarchs.

There will be no title run for the Monarchs this year – after they fell in Saturday’s AFL semi-final match to the Central Alberta Buccaneers, losing by a score of 28-20.

Head Coach Kevin Garbuio tells Mix News his team had stormed to a first-half lead – but just couldn’t hold on for the victory.

“We hit them for a big game on a screen, get another big play and then we were on the one-yard line and we fumbled. Probably was the wrong play call. That’s disappointing on my end. But we were very close, we came out firing, but we just didn’t close.”

Garbuio notes with another year of development, fans can expect a much more seasoned Monarchs squad next season.

He is taking a share of the blame – after a few missed play calls that cost the team some points.

“I am going to be kicking myself for a couple of play calls I should not have made. They resulted in a turnover at the one-yard line, we also had a tandem buck call on the one-yard line which is something I have never seen. It was a little disheartening.”

According to Garbuio, one of the biggest positives of this season was helping develop a number of homegrown players.

He says fans can expect a much more well-rounded team in 2020.