“The dream is still alive.”
Those were the words of Seymour coach Ben Davey on Sunday afternoon after his side pulled off a stunning one-point win over Mansfield at Kings Park to stay in the Goulburn Valley League finals hunt.
And incredibly similarly to how the Eagles defeated them in round two, it was a brutal final term that carried the Lions to victory.
Trailing by 11 points at three-quarter time with rain pelting down, it was always going to take something special for Seymour to steal it, as the match quickly became a slog.
But this is where the hard-nosed Lions midfield came to the fore.
Beginning around the stoppages, Seymour managed to shift the momentum by winning 11 final-quarter clearances to Mansfield’s six.
Key stats
Lions’ final quarter domination
Inside 50s
Seymour: 16
Mansfield: 7
Clearances
Seymour: 11
Mansfield: 6
Tackles
Seymour: 20
Mansfield: 16
One percenters
Seymour: 12
Mansfield: 7
This saw the Lions own the crucial territory battle, going plus nine in inside 50 after losing this statistic in every other quarter.
But it is one thing to constantly send the ball into attack and another thing to keep it there, with Seymour’s ability to pressure the Eagles a staple in this fourth quarter charge.
No Mansfield player was afforded an easy touch for the entire period, as they laid 20 tackles and took five intercept marks as a result of rushed kicks out of defence.
But locking the ball in your attack was only half the battle, with the Lions needing to turn that dominance into scores to win the game.
This is where the class of livewire Rory Scopel took over, making the most of his two scoring opportunities to see his team to a season-defining victory.