The Lions lived up to their namesake and proved they are the kings of the jungle as they continued their good form in the Goulburn Valley League with a hard-fought 25-point win over Tatura on Saturday afternoon.
After a week marred with injuries and suspensions, Seymour dug deep with seven new players coming in to the team to grind out a 13.10 (88) to 9.7 (63) triumph at Tatura Park.
The away side took a high level of physicality into every contest, something that Tatura could not keep up with for the full four quarters.
It was a game controlled by two men in the middle, Huw Jones and Jack O’Sullivan, who had 28 and 35 disposals respectively.
O’Sullivan has proven throughout the season that he is an outlet for teammates and his constant desire to get involved in the play has seen him step into the league’s top 10 disposal leaders with 193 for the season.
Seymour coach Ben Davey was impressed with the duo’s determination.
“He (Jones) was on another level yesterday,” Davey said on Sunday.
“Jack (O’Sullivan) just carried on his merry way.
“O’Sullivan and Jones were out last year with injuries, so they’re like new recruits.
“It was a tough half of the week getting our heads around the suspensions.
“We had a rehab night on Monday and it was ‘like let’s move on’.
“On Thursday we trained in the wet and it was one of our best trainings of the year and we carried that into the game.
“It was really pleasing.”
It was a slow scoring start to the game as the teams vied for the first goal with neither side willing to give the other any space on the ball.
It was only after 11 minutes that O’Sullivan picked up the ball inside the forward 50, managed to find space in between a pack of opponents and kicked Seymour’s first goal.
In line with the high pressure nature of the opening phases of play, Tatura responded quickly with a goal of its own when Billy Cooper weaved in and out of the Seymour back-line to find space to kick.
The Bulldogs’ initial pressure was brought undone as the quarter progressed and Seymour kicked two straight.
Tatura capitalised on a Seymour side which was unable to get into gear at the start of the second quarter by kicking two quick goals.
This short flurry of majors was a wake-up call for the Lions, who played themselves back into the game and after sustained pressure proceeded to kick the next three goals.
The third quarter quickly turned into a game of, ‘anything you can do, I can do better,’ for Seymour, who responded to any goals that Tatura scored in quick fashion and then added another.
Seymour was able to keep the pressure on with consistent inside 50 kicks and winning contested marks proved to be the difference.
Although the Bulldogs were able to win the fourth quarter, the Lions never looked like the game was getting away from them as they continued to control the midfield.
Seymour's pressure and ability to win the 50-50 contests proved too much for the Bulldogs as the away side claimed a 25-point victory.
Seymour will face its toughest challenge of the season so far this Saturday when it takes on top-of-the-table Echuca at home.
“We’re planning on putting our best foot forward,” Davey said.
“Everyone was thinking about the (next) game straight away.
“It’s another challenge, a big challenge.”
With the form these two teams are in, it could be a glimpse at two grand final-bound sides battling it out, making for a spectacle no-one will want to miss.