Seymour will rely on a second chance to continue its Goulburn Valley Football Netball League, GVFNL, finals campaign following Saturday’s 32-point loss to ladder leaders Echuca.
The Lions showed efficient ball movement to be rewarded with the first major of the match.
Michael Hartley, off half-back, provided significant drive for the Lions.
Although Echuca gained an advantage in stoppages, it struggled to convert opportunities into scores, leaving the Lions leading by eight points heading into the second term.
Bouncing back in the second quarter, Echuca outscored Seymour three goals to one, although Seymour’s Riley Mason and Jack Murphy stood out on the wings.
Huwy Jones displayed courage and skill in several one-on-one contests but Echuca’s ability to capitalise on chances helped gain momentum heading into the big break.
Coming out of halftime, both sides had a strong day in goals with Echuca kicking six while Seymour kicked five.
Mason continued his strong first-half performance, taking three marks and kicking three consecutive goals for the Lions – his contributions playing a crucial role in getting Seymour back into the game as it headed into the final quarter down 14 points.
Continuing its strong form, Echuca gained momentum to win 13.17 (95) to 10.3 (63).
Seymour’s Ben Cooney and Ben Clifton had a great day out at opposite ends of the fields, contributing significantly to efforts to stem Echuca’s onslaught late in their match.
The Lions will play Euroa in a semi-final at Tatura on Sunday.
Following a successful regular season that placed Seymour Reserves on top of the ladder, it kicked off its finals campaign with a 31-point win over Kyabram on Sunday.
The Lions led by two goals at the end of the first quarter up 4.2 (26) to 2.2 (14), before replicating its scoreboard efforts in the second term to add another 26 points and lead by 26 points at halftime.
The Lions went on to win 11.5 (71) to 6.4 (40) with Mitchell Waite, Tatye Lewis and co-captain Max McLean named among the best.
The Reserves will take on Shepparton United in a second semi-final in Euroa on Saturday.
Netball
Seymour A Grade netballers have been eliminated from finals after a 27-goal loss to Tatura.
The Lions finished fifth for the regular season and struggled as fourth-place Tatura led the game from the start.
Seymour coach Ellie O’Sullivan said it was a very frustrating game.
“I think we certainly tried really hard but Tatura just had us covered across the whole court,” she said.
“They definitely played a very well-structured game and we just didn’t have the smarts on the weekend but we certainly tried really hard and tried to stay connected as a team.
“I could see they really wanted it and I think we just got caught on the back-foot a little bit.
“I’m really proud of the girl’s efforts but it just wasn’t our day.”
Seymour was missing some of its strong players with Casey Adamson and Sarah Szcykulski out due to injury.
“We knew it was a bit of a different sort of lineup for us but we tried our best and it was great to be able to play a small patch of finals,” O’Sullivan said.
Seymour’s Courtney Aldous and Olivia Barry really stood up for the side in the final.
“Courtney was amazing. She just had so much drive down the court. She won a lot of ball for us but unfortunately, we weren’t able to convert that in goals but she certainly worked hard all game long,” O’Sullivan said.
“Olivia Barry as wing attack provided as much drive as she could and she tried really hard.
“I thought those two girls were people that stood up for us.”
O’Sullivan said the win closes a ‘bit of a make do’ season with injuries impacting lineups and inconsistency of players hitting the court.
“In the same respect, it gives a lot of opportunity to some of the younger players at our club coming through,” she said.
“We have so much talent so it’s been really good to trial those different combinations.
“We had one of the under 17s girls join the side, Ruby Trimble, towards the end of the season and she was amazing. So it just provided a lot of opportunities for some different people to get an opportunity through A Grade.
“I think that’s a great thing to take from the season and I think it bolsters the local talent as well hopefully giving us a good boost for depth next season.”
The Lion’s B grade netballers however will continue their finals campaign, with a five-goal win over Shepparton Swans securing their spot in a semi-final against Echuca this Saturday.
The B grade side finished third in the regular season, while Echuca finished top of the table dropping only one game.