After a disappointing start to the year marred by injuries and tough results, Jarrad Waite’s side was on the wrong side of a 55-point loss against a Seymour outfit that found form in spades at Benalla Showgrounds.
The match was good for the Lions for a plethora of reasons, but one performance stood head and shoulders above the rest: the breakout performance of young gun Riley Mason.
The 22-year-old key forward produced a mammoth performance that will excite Seymour fans, as Mason was a bull in the contest and punished the Saints on the scoreboard.
Mason, who was part of the Calder Cannons’ NAB League side in 2019 and 2021, top-scored with ranking points after breaking the double ton to finish the match on 201 — 25 points ahead of the next-best, Saints ruckman Mark Marriott on 176.
The emerging key forward booted eight goals and had 28 touches at 75 per cent efficiency (24 kicks), 18 contested possessions, 16 marks (eight contested) and 19 score involvements.
Mason’s masterful match
Disposals: 28
Effective disposals: 21
Goals: 8
Contested marks: 8
Score involvements: 19
Goal involvements: 12
After kicking three goals across the first three quarters, Mason burst out of the gate in the final term to show off his physicality and forward craft.
Mason collected 11 disposals, eight marks inside 50, six contested marks and kicked five goals in a fourth quarter to remember.
This season, Seymour has struggled to kick large scores, with totals of 72, 66 and 64 points across the first three games.
The Lions’ biggest score of the season (140) came in last weekend’s clash against the Saints, indicating Mason’s influence.
The emergence of the young Lion as a potential star of the competition who can take contested marks, help set up scores and kick goals and could provide Seymour with the spark it needs to charge back up the ladder.
During the 2023 season, Mason kicked 34 goals from 20 games for the Lions, but across his first four games in 2024, the young key forward has kicked three, four, two and eight goals with a total tally of 17 for the season showing his clear development as a player.
Further demonstrating Mason’s growth and talent in the Goulburn Valley Football League, the Lions forward is tied for fourth place as the competition’s leading goal kicker despite playing one game less than his opponents.
Benalla will be hoping to bounce back from its fifth loss when travelling to Euroa this Saturday.
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