Chloe Locke was instrumental for the B-reserve side at the weekend despite the loss to Shepparton United. Photos: Wayne Herring.
Just two Seymour sides remain in the hunt for Goulburn Valley League premiership glory after the semi-finals were run and won at the weekend, with a pair of lower grade netball sides now holding the hope of the club.
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The reigning premier B-reserve Lions may have endured a closely contested loss on Saturday, but they still remain a chance of securing back-to-back titles despite going down in the second semi-final.
With a home crowd lining the court at Kings Park on Saturday under dark skies and with strong gusts of wind causing havoc, the Lions took on minor premier Shepparton United in the second semi-final with a spot in the decider on the line.
What ensued was an absolute barnstormer.
Despite facing an early deficit, trailing 10-12 at quarter-time, the Lions roared back to level the scores at the main break, entering the half-time huddle at 18 apiece, and well and truly in the hunt for the win.
The third term would prove decisive in the result, however, as the Demons jumped to a 30-26 lead by the final change after outscoring Seymour 12-8 for the quarter, and while the Lions waged a fierce fightback in the final term, they could only come as close as two goals, eventually going down 32-34.
The loss isn’t all bad news, however, with the double chance meaning Seymour will play in the preliminary final this weekend at Deakin Reserve, where they will line up against Euroa on Sunday, a team which they have defeated twice this season by 14 and 30 goals, respectively.
The B-reserve Lions will be joined on Sunday by Seymour’s B-grade side, which claimed a crucial semi-final win at the weekend to ensure their season remains alive for at least another week.
Playing in the first semi-final, meaning no second chance if they lost, the Lions faced second-placed Echuca on Saturday, and despite suffering defeat in each of their two previous meetings, brilliantly executed a 46-36 victory to advance to a preliminary final berth.
It was a win that looked unlikely at times, especially after trailing 10-16 at the first break, and though they managed to close the deficit slightly to trail 22-26 at the main break, the Murray Bombers enjoyed the ascendancy on the scoreboard, and it felt as though it would take something special for the Lions to overturn the margin.
That something special came immediately after half-time, as the Lions added the first five goals unanswered, and 11 of the first 13, to storm into a commanding 35-29 lead by the final change, breaking Echuca’s spirit with a crushing third term.
The final term saw the Lions cruise home, extending the final margin to 10 goals, and in doing so, booking their date with Euroa at Deakin Reserve in Sunday’s prelim.
Seymour’s reserves premiership defence came to an end at the weekend, going down in their semi-final against Kyabram.
That was where the success stopped for the Lions on Saturday, unfortunately, with the reigning premier reserves falling in a grand final rematch to Kyabram, bringing their brave premiership defence to an end.
Despite kicking just one goal in the first half to trail 1.4 (10) to 6.6 (42) at half-time, Seymour ensured it was in with a sniff at the final change after booting 2.5 in the third term while keeping Kyabram goalless, reducing the deficit at three-quarter time to 19 points.
It wasn’t to be, however, as the Bombers kicked 5.5 to Seymour’s 1.4 in the final term, pushing the margin out to a game-high 44 points by the final siren and condemning the Lions to a 4.13 (37) to 11.15 (81) loss.
Sam Fuhrmeister was named Seymour’s best despite the loss, while Lachlan Donnelly, Ben McCarthy, Cameron Osmond and Sam Thomson each kicked a major.
The A-grade netball side also suffered defeat at the hands of Mooroopna to bring an end to their campaign, leaving just the B and B-reserve sides to fly the Seymour flag as they look to punch grand final tickets.
