With a 21.19 (145) to 6.5 (41) mauling of Tatura at Kings Park on Saturday, the Lions have levelled the ledger to sit seventh on the ladder and suddenly are right in the hunt for finals, which while still a long way off, were almost impossible to envision less than a month ago.
Seymour co-coach Ben Davey was obviously pleased with the result, but acknowledged the tough circumstances Tatura finds itself in this season.
“Yeah, definitely happy to win, it’s really good, but I also feel for Tat while they’re going through a tough time,” Davey said.
From the opening bounce Seymour was well and truly on top of a Tatura that is enduring a tough start to the year, slamming home the first six goals of the contest before the Bulldogs got on the board through VAFA import Ben Darrou, as the Lions headed into the first break up by 32 points, and the game headed in the direction most observers thought it would.
But whatever Paul Barnard told his troops in the quarter-time huddle clearly had an effect, as Tatura emerged in the second term a much better side that appeared up for the fight.
Seymour delivered a superb coast-to-coast play to notch the first major of the term, however, the visitor strung together the next two goals as the energy increased, pulling the margin back to 25 points.
The momentum see-sawed as the Lions got on top once again and looked to pull away, clearly the superior side whenever they managed to get the ball with any sort of time or space, and extended the margin once again to a game-high 38 points with goals to Jack Peris and Lewis Lubeck.
But the Bulldogs hung in there, winning centre clearances and pumping the ball inside-50 with regularity for a 10 minute period, edging ahead for the term after back-to-back majors through Tim Wilson and Jack Sinclair, but it was all undone as they lapsed late, allowing Seymour to snag two goals in quick succession on the stroke of half-time, as the Lions pushed the lead to 36 at the long break.
Tatura did plenty right in the second term and it looked as though there could be a solid contest after half-time, but Davey delivered a stern message to his group in the rooms after its second quarter showing which reignited the Lions.
“(The message) was along the lines of what I spoke about last week, about going into a game expecting to win and taking teams lightly, not respecting them,” he said.
“That was a big part of the message, just about where blokes think they are and where they actually are in the scheme of things.
“The reserves are going well, we are getting a lot of depth back, so I just need them to be reliable, not superstars, and your teammates can rely on that you’re going to do the right thing.”
The response was immediate, though not immediately obvious on the scoreboard, as the Lions kicked 2.7 in the third term, but Seymour was dominant in all aspects after half-time, denying Tatura any score in the third quarter while holding sway through the middle, winning the ball at the source and moving it at will to find targets inside 50.
It would be in the final quarter that the reward for effort came for Seymour, nearly doubling the three-quarter time margin of 55 points as it slammed home goal after goal, piling on 7.7 in a procession as Tatura faded away, failing to register any score at all in the second half, while the Lions posted their highest score of the season.
There were highlights all across the field in the win for Seymour, with Tom Jeffrey and Nathan Fowler booting bags of five, the latter receiving the best-on-ground medal presented in honour of Sarah Locke, with the Lions celebrating the sixth annual Sarah’s Day fundraiser for Breast Cancer Network Australia.
Jack Peris produced another scintillating performance in his second outing for Seymour, booting two goals amid a masterful midfield showing, while Seamus Feery and co-coach Jack Murphy continued their strong starts to the year.
Rory Kennedy and Josh Porter, on break from their duties with the Murray Bushrangers, showed exactly why they are making an impact at Coates Talent League level, with Kennedy finishing his day with three goals, which could have easily been six, and Porter producing some stunning moments, including one chain where he ran off half-back, had three handball receives and delivered to Kennedy on the lead inside 50 .
The win lifts Seymour’s percentage back up to virtually 100, leaving it a game outside the top six behind the likes of Mansfield and Shepparton, with the Bears awaiting next week at Deakin Reserve in a huge test for the resurgent Lions.
Conversely Tatura slumps to 0-6 after its fourth loss of more than 100 points this season and will take on a high-flying Rochester at Moon Oval in round seven.
