Seymour undone by late Mooroopna surge in Goulburn Valley League

With scores level at 51-all at three-quarter time at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve, the inexperienced visitors fell at the last hurdle as the Cats left a sour first half in the rear-view mirror.

The Mooroopna mentor explained in his post-match address that footy could be boiled down to the fine art of one-percenters, using the keratin-themed message to congratulate his boys on a supreme show of ticker.

“Footy is sometimes about fingernail theory — just getting a fingernail on a bloke, extra pressure or rushing an opponent’s disposal that means the ball just sits up a little bit and means your defender gets a look at it,” he said.

“You don’t get that fingernail on that Seymour bloke, he kicks it and laces out and the forward’s got it.

“You put that bit of pressure, bit of air on it, we spoil — all that stuff (was) just enormous.”

At stages during the game, fingernails were down to the nub on both sides of the ground.

Firstly it was the Seymour spectators with digits in mouths when key defender Dylan Scopel walked off early with a head wound, then again when Riley Mason took a crashing mark only for his kick to spray just left.

The first quarter was by no means a barn-burner, but when Mooroopna’s Nathan Drummond kicked the first of the game from downtown in the 20th minute, something stirred.

The contest went from zero to 100 in five minutes, with the sides going goal for goal until the siren sounded for quarter-time.

Seymour’s Lewis Lubeck finally got the gears in motion after 10 minutes of dead play, only for the returning Daniel Johnston to kick his second goal of the match shortly after and continue the ongoing arm wrestle.

Seymour had the better second term with Nathan Fowler chiming in with two majors, nudging his Lions to an 11-point buffer at the main break.

Another lull came and went through the start of the third quarter, but the Lions were left second-best once more as Mooroopna young mid-forward Darcy Russell bagged two goals in short succession.

Late in the term, Mason soccered low from inside the goal square at the second bite of the cherry to make it 51-51. It was game on.

Little did Seymour expect, though, the Cats had their fingernails sharpened.

The Lions fell victim to Johnston’s late show as the Cats spearhead drove the points home with three last-quarter goals.

Lamont was quick to laud the full-string effort of his troops.

“I worry when I individualise I miss someone, but I just felt at key times, players stood up when they needed to,” he said.

“I’m not talking about doing something overly dramatic, because we don’t need players kicking the goals out their a*** or anything like that — just do your little bit.

“I felt continually we did that, young players and older players.

“But what you really do need as a team is your older heads to stand up, blokes that’ve been around the block a couple of times, blokes who aren’t in their first rodeo, and they did it.”

Johnston finished with five majors for the victors while Angus Hanrahan, Keelin Betson and Drummond starred.

For Seymour, Mason led the charge with a treble of goals to add to pairs from Fowler and Lubeck.

The Lions will have a week to regroup as the GVL prepares to meet the Ovens and Murray league in the annual interleague contest at Deakin Reserve this Saturday.

Tom Maloney and Riley Mason will fly the Lions’ flag in the senior side, which has turned Kings Park into a main interleague training hub in recent years.