That’s how first year Macquarie coach Dylan Hill describes his maiden Group 11 campaign in charge of the Raiders.

Macquarie was bundled out of the 2018 finals series in Saturday’s elimination semi-final – the same exit ramp the club’s first grade side took in 2017 – against a red-hot Forbes Magpies outfit.

The black and whites appear a side at the peak of its powers while Hill concedes the Raiders are a work in progress, one he’d love to continue to be part of heading into the 2019 season.

“Growing,” is how Hill described his coaching experience.

“You learn a whole lot more about rugby league when you have a coach’s perspective.

“Being a player, you show up week-in, week-out and focus on your game but as a coach you have to learn about how others play.

“It’s a learning curve and I hope I can keep doing it.”

Hill was confident the bulk of his 2018 squad would remain on for next season in a bid to build as a finals contender in 2019.

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“We’ll talk to a few of the older boys and see what their plans are, but we’ve spoken about trying to stick together as a core group,” he said.

“The boys said that, they turned up for each other and they gang-tackled us multiple times. When they were in attack their structure was awesome and they were willing to bust the line and you can’t fault them, they were the better team on the day.”