Canterbury was the underdog when it traveled to St John's in round seven, but played the best it had all season to lead in the second half. However the home side fought back to seize the momentum – and a 10-point lead – 12 minutes into the final term.

Boarotto says Canterbury would have lost that game in previous seasons. Instead, the Cobras refused to give in and hit the front late in the game, and – despite a late onslaught by St John's – held on to win by six points.

"Yeah, I love that game," he says. "That was a real arm wrestle. Momentum swings left, right and centre. That win, for me, was probably one of the top three to the time that I've been involved in at the club. It definitely gave personal belief that we could beat the best sides, because at that time that they were beating every team, every week. You'd look at the scores after our games, and it was always St John's or North Brunswick by 150 points, compared to us beating the same side by 50 to 80 points. So to match it with them gave us real confidence."

Ward says he also saw a toughness that day, both physically and mentally, that he'd rarely seen at Canterbury.

"They kicked a goal to hit the front and once upon a time our heads may have dropped, but this year, we just found a way, and we continued to work," he says.

"And after we hit the lead, we forced a stoppage on their forward line. We won the clearance and moments later had players running into an open goal because they (St John's) didn't run back defensively. They're the things that - in years gone by - we weren't doing, and those sorts of games would fall out of our grip."

Walmsley, who's been at the club longer than any of his teammates, also describes it as a special win. "That was a big one. That was the one for me where I thought this team is showing something that I hadn't seen."

But there were some concerns it may have been a false dawn because that win aside, the team seemed to be going through the motions for the first half of the year. It wasn't until the round 12 away game against Richmond that things started to turn.

It was a bitterly cold and wet day at Kevin Bartlett Oval. The home side had tremendous support as it was celebrating its past players' day. Meanwhile, Canterbury had 15 players unavailable.

Walmsley says while Canterbury was never out of the top five, a win was needed to stay in touch with a top-three finish, to get the double chance in the finals.

"I was running the boundary that day, and I remember saying to Woody (Woodward) 'Jeez, this is the one. We need to bank it for the four points.' But with the amount of blokes we had out and with the wet conditions and all the support they had, I thought they could roll us.

"And they were all over us, really, for three quarters. We just got them back to around level-pegging on three quarter time, but they'd been the better side for three quarters. And then it was exactly that - a bit of belief and 'G and D'," Walmsley says.

"We were holding on and we weren't fizzling out," Ward says. "I think in years gone by we weren't holding on, winning those games. We were either winning comfortably or losing at arm's length. In previous years we weren't really in any games where we fought tooth and nail to get over the line. But we had those games this year, where we genuinely had to fight tooth-and-nail to find the win."

Mitch Szabo kicked two long goals in the final term as the Cobras got the win 6.11 (47) to 6.10 (46).

Boarotto says he sensed a change at training as well. He highlighted Nathan Beacom and Sam Hinton as leading the way on the track throughout the year, but said there weren't enough following their example.

"We were very fortunate to have some talented players come together on a Saturday. I wouldn't say that we came together on a Tuesday or Thursday too often and when it comes to those close games, if you haven't trained for it, you lose those games, but you still pat yourselves on the back for the great effort," he says.

"This year, it was similar in that we didn't train a lot together but as we started winning those close games there was a belief in the group and it encouraged a few blokes to get to training. Everyone just really enjoyed themselves and started getting around each other a bit more and really appreciated each other out on the ground."

Mitch Szabo says he noticed a change with the introduction of Matt Fotia into the team. Fotia had returned to football only weeks before after spending years away from the game to focus on cricket. Szabo says Fotia's enthusiasm lifted the mood, and standards followed. It gave the team another much-needed dimension.

"The vibe was up, and we played some really good footy," Szabo says.

Consequently, the results followed. Canterbury lost just one game in the second half of the year, and that was to St John's at home. It was a reversal of the first time they met. The Cobras were in a winning position at home only to lose by six points.

It meant Canterbury finished fourth and as a consequence, missed the coveted double chance. If Canterbury was to win the flag, it had to do it the hard way – four sudden-death finals in four weeks, with three of its four opponents beating the Cobras at least once during the year.

Captain Boarotto says as strange as it sounds, it worked in Canterbury's favour because it meant there was no room for complacency.

"We had a chance to lock up a top two spot if we beat St John's at home, and for three-and-a-half quarters, we were up by five or six goals and blew that lead," he says. "But I think that was a bit of a blessing in disguise.

"I think finishing fourth, having to do it the hard way, having to force blokes to come to training, it forced us to live and die each week, and obviously winning every game from fourth was an incredible feat, but I think it actually benefited a team like us."