"[But] it is gutting. We had one guy come up to us and say, 'Well there were six other teams who weren't in that game and another who won bronze and they were happy'.
"We did really well in achieving what we did and we only just lost the final I think in a couple of days we'll appreciate it more."
Northland was made to pay early on as Auckland Black Stick Krystal Forgesson put away a loose ball inside the circle in the sixth minute.
Having already played Auckland this season, and won 3-1 two weeks ago, Auckland stepped up their game and shut down Michelsen who had been key to Northland's success.
Despite a spirited fightback late in the game, Northland was unable to score the equaliser even though they created opportunities.
With this year's Northland women's team being the best to come from the region, Waetford said the rise up the ranks had come a lot faster than she thought.
Boosted by the availability of Stacey Michelsen for the first time since 2012, Waetford felt before the season this year would be about laying the ground work to launch from for the next few seasons. However, she was wrong.
"When I took the job on this year it was a two or three-year plan I had. This year was about starting to get culture and start developing players, maybe attract a few players to come back and play for us next year."
Waetford said the response from the team after the game was a bit of disappointment coupled with a shift of focus to next year.
She added the word was the NHL would be played in Whangarei, something which appealed to her side - winning in front of a home crowd.
Playing for Auckland were four Northlanders - Jan Rowsell, Charlotte Harrison, Sam Harrison, and Melissa Simpson.
Northland's men's team finished in last place, losing 6-1 to Central in the seventh/eighth playoff.
