But all three stalwarts are united in their disappointment.
Otago’s playoffs prospects were brutally snuffed out with a humbling 47-7 loss to Waikato in Hamilton on Sunday.
It was the low point in a season where there has been plenty of competition for that dubious honour.
Otago will receive an opportunity to salvage some pride when they host Counties-Manukau in their final round-robin game at Forsyth Barr Stadium on Sunday.
Regardless of the outcome, the post-season review will not be a festive occasion.
Latta, who played for Otago for a decade from 1986 to 1996, was the most optimistic of the trio contacted for comment by the Otago Daily Times.
"It has been a tough old season," he acknowledged.
"They’ve got some good young boys in there, but they don’t learn their trade overnight. It is about being patient. You want to see results, but sometimes you’ve got to look past that, too."
Latta was torn on that point himself. While he wanted to cut the side some slack, he also felt the team had underperformed.
"It is pretty frustrating from the outside looking in because we have not really gone ahead over the last ... how many years?
"You look at things like that and say: is that a player thing or a coaching thing?"
Young played 50 games for Otago from 1980 to 1985.
The former loose forward moved into coaching not long after he retired as a player and enjoyed 20 years in the professional ranks.
There is very little Young does not know about the game. But he is just a fan these days and that can be tough.
"From a supporter’s point of view, it has been disheartening to see," Young said.
"Their stickability and character has been pretty good, I reckon. They haven’t given up ... so I don’t think we can question their effort.
"I just think our back play hasn’t really functioned.
"There seems to have been a lot of aimless kicking.
"I can see what they are trying to do and that is sometimes where the space is.
"But I just think we’ve been a little robotic in the sense that we haven’t looked for space to play and got on top that way.
"Individually, in some positions, we are not up to it and that has not helped.
"But I just see that we seem to be doing the same thing every week without any real adjustment.
"I’m sure that they are trying, but that is what it looks like from the outside looking in.
"It just looks like we are trying to play the same game, which is not working for us, basically."
Burrow is the senior club chairman for the Dunedin club and a passionate Otago fan.
"It has been hard to watch at times," he responded when asked to assess the season.
"On paper, you’d think there would be enough talent there. We just have not been able to execute when we needed to, or we’ve made too mistakes or our game plan has not been working.
"If we are not getting the rub of the green then what are we doing differently?
"It comes down to what is our game plan, and if the question is ‘have we seen progression on that during the season’ then the answer is probably no."
Another area where there was agreement among the trio was around the coaching set-up.
There was disquiet among some in the rugby community when the Otago Rugby Football Union opted against advertising the head coaching role last season and instead re-signed Tom Donnelly for another two years.
Otago failed to reach the playoffs last season despite boasting a Super Rugby-laden squad.
Latta, Young and Burrows all felt that had been a missed opportunity.
"I don’t think they interviewed anyone which, I think, was pretty poor," Latta said.
"To be honest, with Tom in the Highlanders set-up now, has he got everything in?
"You want a person that is going to be giving it that 100%, or that whole group needs to be giving 100%. I don’t know if he has been or not — I can’t judge that from the outside.
"But I just thought there was an opportunity for change and that was an ideal opportunity."
Young said it was hard to know what happened behind the scenes.
"But generally what happens after you’ve finished your tenure is the job does not roll over — you’ve got to reapply for your position.
"I’ve been through that myself. I was very surprised that there was no interviewing process.
"But take nothing away from Tom. At the end of the day, he’s been given the role and he’ll be as frustrated as anybody else."
Burrow said there was always going to be pressure on the coaching group, but he felt some competition would have been healthy.
"You don’t know who is out there until you ask the question."
Burrow was also frustrated there had not been more accountability.
"If you watch the NRL, you actually hear from the coaches and they actually get questions from a journalist around the game plan and stuff.
"I think it would be nice for them to come out in the public and explain to us what has been happening and what they are trying to do."
