Seymour's Riley Mason gets a handball away during his side’s defeat against Echuca. Photos: Wayne Herring
Seeing an away game at Victoria Park on the fixture must be just about the most daunting prospect in the Goulburn Valley League at the moment, and it is exactly what Seymour faced at the weekend.
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The Lions travelled to take on GVL powerhouse and back-to-back reigning premier Echuca on Saturday, and far from being daunted, well and truly took it up to the Murray Bombers.
But despite a great effort, the Lions fell short, going down 8.8 (56) to 14.5 (89) after some momentary lapses cost them dearly.
“It was a pretty even game, it was very competitive,” Seymour coach Ben Davey said.
“We had plenty of play, we just couldn’t capitalise on our periods of momentum. And Echuca are just such a good team, if you give them a chance, if you drop off for a couple of minutes, they’ll make you pay.
“And that’s what all our young guys and our players who are just starting out on their senior footy career, they’ve got to realise.
“The game of footy, it’s not just one contest or two, it’s 100 contests, and every second, every minute of every quarter has to be done well to get the end result.
“But it was a much better effort, which was really pleasing.”
Despite a competitive showing, the Lions were unable to come away with the win.
It was Seymour that entered quarter-time on top after a tight first term, with the visiting side slotting 2.3 (15) to enjoy a one-point advantage at the first break.
But as Davey alluded to, the reigning premier took every chance as it arose and put three goals between itself and Seymour in a four-goal-to-one second term, with the Lions trailing by 16 points at the main break.
A positive response after half-time ensured that Seymour was within touching distance with a quarter to play, trailing by 17 points at the final change, however the Murray Bombers proved too strong, pouncing late to claim the win by an eventual 33 points.
Far from being outplayed, Seymour finished the game having won a number of key stats, including clearances (46-39), and matching Echuca in most other areas, which didn’t come as a surprise to Davey.
“That's not unusual for our year, to have won the majority of stats but lost the game on the scoreboard,” he said.
“That gets back to what I’m talking about, being focused for the whole game. You can't have a five-minute or a 10-minute period, or if you have two five-minute periods throughout the game where you lose focus, teams will make you pay.
“All our games this year, that’s pretty much what’s happened. It’s just about really developing the young guys this year and teaching them you have to be focused the whole time.
“It’s easy to get really disappointed when you lose so many games by such small margins, but you know that it’s building, but when it all clicks together and everyone does tune in and focus for the whole game, that’s when the good results will follow.”
Seymour’s Nathan Fowler looks to hit a target inside 50.
Ben Rigoni was among the best for Seymour in just his second game for the Lions this season, returning to the fold after what has so far been a strong campaign with Coburg in the VFL.
Davey was full of praise for the star on baller, who he said set a brilliant example for the younger members of the team.
“He’s worked so hard on his craft, his football and his fitness and strength over the last couple of years,” Davey said.
“He’s someone who, when he decides that VFL’s, you know, he’s had enough, he will fully realise that he has given everything he possibly could.
“He wouldn’t have missed a training run, he wouldn’t have missed a weight session, he wouldn’t have missed a rehab session, he is an absolute professional.
“I actually used him at the end of the game when I was talking to the players in the rooms on Saturday, just saying have a look at this guy if you want to get better, he is the shining light.”
Seymour will host Tatura next week, with Davey imploring his players to bring the same effort against the Bulldogs as they did on the weekend.
“You can handle losing like on the weekend if everyone’s (putting in) effort and they’re focused and having a go,” he said.
“The losses that really disappoint you and hurt you are the ones where you know darn well someone could have, should have, would have done that little bit extra if they were fully switched on.
“That’s what we can’t go back to, so the performance on the weekend was good against the top team. Even though we lost, the effort was really there.
“But you can’t just have it one week and then decide the next week you’re not going to do it. It’s got to be the whole time.”
