After Seymour had its colours lowered by a young and hungry Shepparton Swans outfit, coach Ben Davey would have demanded a strong response from his squad as it welcomed Kyabram to Kings Park for a pivotal round 14 clash.
And boy did it deliver.
Coming up against what has been the competition’s juggernaut for the best part of a decade, the Lions controlled the tempo from start to finish to record a telling 33-point triumph.
While there were many aspects of the game that would have brought a smile to the faces of the Seymour faithful, the team at GVL Data has uncovered one key statistic that would have had Davey and his coaching staff jumping for joy: the tackle count.
Key stats
Brutal Lions’ dominant day out
Tackles
Seymour: 74
Kyabram: 44
Contested possessions
Seymour: 112
Kyabram: 108
Disposals
Seymour: 325
Kyabram: 227
One-percenters
Seymour: 31
Kyabram: 26
It is an indicator that shows just how switched on a team is and the Lions were ruthless in this area all day long, recording a whopping 74 tackles compared to Kyabram’s 44.
Making this feat all the more impressive was the fact that Seymour also dominated the disposal count 325-227 and won the contested ball 112-108.
With the tackle count usually favouring the team that doesn’t have possession of the ball, this just highlights the ferocity the Lions played with in what was a do-or-die clash.
At a glance
Seymour hard nuts go to work
Tackles
Ben Rigoni: 11
Nathan Beattie: 8
Seamus Feery: 8
Josh Alford: 6
Jordan Angus: 5
In terms of individuals, hard nut Ben Rigoni led the way, registering a game-high 11 tackles to go with his 18 disposals.
Livewire Nathan Beattie also showed a willingness to get his hands dirty laying eight, a figure matched by experienced utility Seamus Feery.
How does this performance stack up against the rest of the season?
Well, the figure of 74 tackles blows Seymour’s season average of 54.7 out of the water and is nine greater than its previous season-high of 65 against Shepparton in round eight.
The contrast from last week’s loss to Shepparton Swans is also interesting, with the Lions registering just 35 tackles in what was their most disappointing showing of the season.