My memory is a tad rusty but wasn't QF's fleet renewal in the early part of the century complicated by the late deliveries of the A380s and B787s? I think the Company was caught between a rock and a hard place. And wasn't the gaggle of A330s the result of a deal from Airbus that couldn't be refused as a form of compensation for the late A380s? It's not that difficult to understand why the B777, however desirable, was 'overlooked'.