Tasmanian captain Jamie Cox is looking beyond short-term pain and to an exciting future for his state after its 235-run defeat at the hands of Queensland in the Pura Cup Final in Brisbane today.

Visions of a fairytale, maiden first-class title for Australia's smallest and least-resourced state had been fuelled by a remarkable closing three months of a season. But they were dashed today when their hosts sealed their third successive finals win.

Yet Cox remained delighted with his side's close to the season and equally upbeat about the Tigers' chances of returning to the competition's ultimate match in the near future.

"I couldn't be more proud at the moment, even though obviously fairly disappointed (in the result)," said a beaten but unbowed Tasmanian captain of his emotions at the end of the season.

"This side has come an enormous way in three months.

"Most people, at that stage, would have said that Tasmania would be happy just to play the year out. Deep down, I might have even been thinking the same way; I was at a pretty low point myself.

"But we sat back and reassessed things (after a loss to Queensland in December) and one of the big decisions we made was that we were going to play every game with pride.

"We were never going to be defeated and we were never going to be beaten (as we were then) because we were never going to concede.

"This group has now shown that they have the fighting character to take us further.

"There's certainly a very bright future."

Slow starts to a season have notoriously afflicted Tasmanian teams over recent years, and winning matches at the start of a summer will now become one of the Tigers' keenest priorities in their quest for domestic cricket's most coveted prize.

"Out of our last 25 wins, four have come after Christmas," said Cox.

"It's an issue we've tried to deal with, and it's an issue we must deal with if we want that ultimate goal of a home final.

"We should hit the ground a bit better than what we do.

"We've actually had pre-season trips before. But they've tended to be interrupted. We've been to Adelaide a few times but that's a slightly confusing place to go because it rains just as much there as it does in Hobart."

In the wake of the Tigers' best finish in Sheffield Shield/Pura Cup competition since 1997-98, Cox was also quick to pay tribute to Queensland and its continued domination of contemporary first-class cricket in Australia.

"They've been the trendsetters for a long time, and I take my hat off to them. They've been a side that we've all tried to copy for a number of years.

"They do things so well.

"Probably the best thing to learn from this experience is how to play in a Pura Cup Final if you manage to get one at home.

"They've dominated the game but all they did was simply not let us in at any stage. The one opportunity that we had they were good enough to take straight back off us."

© 2002 CricInfo Ltd