A side which lost a raft of its most prominent contributors in the off-season has had to blood a swathe of emerging young talent, often fighting against the tide on the field in doing so.
Truth be told though, the Lions are not being routinely heavily defeated like many other sides which undertake such ‘rebuild’ phases.
After all, how many other teams do you see hold a percentage above 90 with a 1-6 record?
Beyond mere wins and losses though, it may be apt to take a look at some of the Lions’ key metrics to really assess where the side sits after the first two months of season 2024.
Seymour’s steady stats - averages per game
Contested marks: 15.7 (third)
Tackles: 62.2 (third)
Clearances: 32.2 (12th)
Inside-50s: 44.2 (ninth)
Kicking efficiency: 69% (first)
It’s a mixed bag, to put it one way.
The Lions have become a side that thrives on the uncontested ball, as some of their per-game averages indicate.
Sitting second for kicks and leading marks per game by almost 10 from their next closest competitor makes the picture clearer.
Riley Mason has been a key element in Seymour’s aerial game as expected, with his 22 contested marks second in the league and easily in front within the club.
As clutch as Mason’s aerial reliability has been though, one of the more prominent issues has been garnering repeat forward entries.
With one fewer game played than everyone else, individual charts aren’t always as they appear. But Jack Murphy leading the team for inside-50s — from only six games — while sitting joint-30th in the competition isn’t pretty reading.
Defensively, the side is largely resolute; the Lions have conceded 240 fewer points than ninth-placed Shepparton United and even less than two teams currently in finals positions.
Lachlan Waite and his astonishing league-best 29 intercept marks are a huge part of why, with his tally sitting 10 clear of the rest of the field.
Sitting well off the pace in terms of clearances will inevitably continue to be a hindrance around the ground though, despite the best efforts of the likes of David Mundy contributing five in his second appearance of the season against Rochester.
There are strengths and weaknesses throughout the Lions’ statistical metrics in 2024, one can plainly see, but a youthful and generally inexperienced outfit is always going to throw a curveball or two.
The 4-4 Magpies await next, themselves sitting below where many projected they would in the pre-season.
Euroa presents a markedly different challenge than the Tigers, who sit top of the tree in contested possessions, tackles and other key physicality-based categories.
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