A Goulburn Valley League senior football season that showed so much promise has been scuppered in heartbreaking fashion for the Lions, with less than a kick separating them from the premature end they suffered and playing off for a spot in the decider this weekend.
Entering the finals series after finishing third on the ladder, a spot they occupied for the vast majority of the home-and-away season, the Lions faced sixth-placed Mooroopna at Tatura Park on Saturday in the first elimination final, but were on the wrong end of the result after an exhilarating game of football, going down 11.11 (77) to 12.8 (80).
Having been held goalless in the first half the only time the two sides met during the year, Seymour was keen to get out to a fast start in the opening term, and did exactly that, answering Mooroopna’s opening major with a pair of goals to spearhead Riley Mason.
The game settled into a steady rhythm from there, and while the Cats fired back with a pair of majors either side of a goal to Lions big man Tom Stapleton, there was little to split the two sides at quarter-time, as the high-intensity, high-stakes atmosphere of finals football took over.
It would be Mooroopna that edged ahead by the break, up 3.3 (21) to 3.2 (20), but it wouldn’t stay that way for long, as the Lions launched a vicious second-quarter assault.
The Cats managed the first major of the term via Jack Johnston to go ahead by seven points, though Seymour hit back hard with the next three goals, one each to Mason, Rory Kennedy and Jaron Murphy, to open up a game-high 13-point lead.
Mooroopna found a second for the term to slow the Seymour onslaught, but couldn’t stop it, as Mason fired home his fourth and fifth of the afternoon, split only by Xavier Dimasi’s first, to send the Lions 27 points ahead.
Crucially for the Cats, however, they managed to cap the half with consecutive majors, and Seymour saw its lead cut to 15 points heading into the rooms, ahead 60-45, though with Mooroopna showing plenty of fight.
Having led by close enough to five goals nearing half-time, the Lions were soon left shell-shocked by the final change, as the Cats exited the rooms to resume the third quarter with venom, booting the only three goals of the third term and restricting Seymour to three behinds in the process.
From 60-45 ahead at half-time, Seymour entered the three-quarter huddle down 63-65, and needed a team-lifting moment early in the final term to feed off as they attempted to mount a comeback.
It was found in the form of young gun Kennedy, who booted the opening goal of the final term to wrest the lead back for the Lions, setting up a grandstand finish.
The Cats would reply shortly after to reclaim the three-point lead, marking a second lead change for the quarter, before Lions co-coach Jack Murphy took it upon himself to haul his side back into the game, booting his first of the afternoon to once again put Seymour in front, 75 to 72.
Mooroopna though proved relentless, with Kobie Issell’s major signalling a fourth lead change in what was quickly becoming a classic final term, putting Seymour on the back foot and five points in arrears as the clock dwindled down.
The Lions mustered two shots at goal in the dying stages, the latter a Riley Mason attempt with less than a minute remaining, and a goal from either would have sufficed, but ultimately they both sailed wide of the mark, condemning Seymour to a three-point defeat, and with it an early exit.
Lewis Lubeck was named Seymour’s best in defeat, well supported by Tom Maloney and in-form on-baller Dylan Cook, while Mason’s haul of five also saw him selected among the best alongside Ben Cooney.
Not all is lost for the Lions’ football premiership aspirations though, with the reigning premier reserves advancing to a semi-final this weekend, while three netball sides also remain alive in the quest for silverware after the first weekend of finals.
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