The A's were battered from go to whoa in a 115-68 mauling at the hands of a rejuvenated Moonee Ponds on neutral territory at the Glenroy Bowls Club.

"It was a drastic week," A's president Neil Munro lamented. "Noone expected that. We were just out-bowled all day and our guys didn't give a yelp."

It was a steep learning curve for the A's' first-year skips Ben Loughlin and Brenton Coad.

Impressive throughout the summer, Loughlin had the misfortune of facing international star Mark Jacobsen at his best in a 39-11 loss. State star Coad was downed 36-10 by Brett Spurr.

"They will be better skips next year for the experience of playing in a final," said Munro, who forecast a big recruiting campaign for the A's.

The club is looking for an injection of youth. "We'll be looking to recruit a few younger players because you can see they add a bit of enthusiasm to some of the opposition clubs."

A's player-coach Wayne Roberts, the only winning rink on the day, was disappointed with the sour end to the season. "We couldn't see that on the radar. They're a good side and if you give them a bit of a lead they rub it in."

Roberts' two-year contract with the A's expires at season's end. The two parties have not begun talks on a new deal.

It has been a bittersweet 24 months for the A's under Roberts. He took them to the minor premiership in year one without claiming the ultimate glory and they missed out on a double-chance in the finals this summer after spending most of it in first or second place.

The spotlight is now on Altona (2) in the division one finals. The A's seconds claimed the section two title with a semi-final 122-78 annihilation of Fitzroy Victoria and a 104-82 mauling of Essendon (2) in the final.

The A's meet Mentone in the division one semi final at Ivanhoe on Saturday.