Played in glorious conditions on a good surface at Edgeworth, everything appeared set for a fantastic end to the season.

But it was a day when little seemed to go right for the Bears, who had only lost once in their last 12 games.

Bears coach Steven Piggott made only one change to the starting 11 with Liam Thornton coming back from injury to replace Nick Thompson.

Weston should have lead after two minutes when Jason Cowburn blasted high and wide from close range.

The Bears didn’t seem to have their mojo from there on and copped a goal in the 15th minute of play when a corner from the Jaffas saw an unmarked Jobe Wheelhouse power his header into the net.

Weston then conceded a soft goal just after the 30-minute mark when hesitation in the six-yard box allowed the Jaffas to score from close range and take a 2-0 lead to the sheds at half-time.

The Bears were very well supported and the large numbers who turned up in black and white set the hill alight and would easily have made up half of the 4100-strong crowd.

At half-time Piggott replaced Jamie Subat with Jye Mackellar wide on the left fringe. As the second half progressed Zac Sneddon and Jason Cowburn were replaced with Rob Macbeth and Michael Ryan.

In a scoreless second half, as hard as the Coalfields boys tried they were outgunned and in the end were simply not good enough.

On a positive note, the Bears they have a chance to redeem themselves this weekend.

Another new initiative from the FFA is the newly-created NPL play-offs, which includes all of the State Premiers.

Weston will represent Northern NSW and play this Saturday against the Palm Beach Sharks from Queensland.

Palm Beach won their grand final last Friday 3-2 and were premiers – they will present the locals with a tough task.

The game will be played at Rockwell Automation Park, Weston. Gates will open at 5.30pm for a 7pm kick-off.

Admission will be $5 as the Bears hope to attract a decent crowd for a game that puts the club on the national stage and as a reward their loyal supporters.

The NPL playoffs consist of eight teams Australia-wide. This is a massive opportunity for the Weston to progress and although being gutted by their grand final loss, Saturday night presents the opportunity to bounce back.

If Weston win this tie, they would confront the winner of the Bonnyrigg (NSW) and ACT winner the week after.

See photos from the Bears-Jaffas grand final here.