Coach Clarke Dermody believed this after the Highlanders showed their competitiveness in the first half before Brumbies' power took over in the second.
Dermody said the pressure they were under exiting their half, especially at the start of the second half, gave the Brumbies opportunities to put their skills to work.
"When you give them enough opportunity, they're going to make you pay, and that's what they did."
"We came here to win. We felt we had a game plan to do it, and we did it for 40 minutes. I was pleased that the boys could do that against a pretty good team with many Test players, but I was disappointed that we couldn't take the game a bit deeper.
"It felt like if we could keep it close, push it into a bit of an arm wrestle towards the end in a game that the Brumbies were to win, then that's anyone's game.
"We just couldn't quite keep pressure on them long enough."
Dermody felt the Highlanders dominated them in the scrum contest, winning four or five penalties. However, the Brumbies won the lineout battle and pressured the breakdown more than the Highlanders.
"We took our opportunities when we could. It would have been nice to keep them out just before halftime."
The Brumbies snatched the lead with a try just before the break.
"That gave them the momentum they started the second half with."
Dermody didn't think the travel to Canberra was an issue for the side.
Being from Dunedin, they were used to half days or more of travel. They had won in Canberra before, and there was no excuse for the side to fall off in the second half.
The Brumbies were a good side; if their outsides got chances, everyone knew how dangerous they could be.
But for the players, it was disappointing.
"You'll never be stoked not to continue deeper into the finals. It's sad, but we've got many young guys who still have so much footy left to play for the Highlanders, so we're in a good spot.
"It was good that we could bring the young guys through and give them a bit of a tast, and hopefully next year they can keep getting better and better."