It was a battle for the ages at Mooroopna Recreation Reserve on Saturday afternoon, with the ladder-leading Lions falling to just their second loss of the Goulburn Valley League A-grade netball season.
In a close contest from start to finish, Mooroopna managed to keep Seymour at bay, with an inspired final term willing it to a famous 36-32 victory in front of its home supporters.
With an array of stars making up both line-ups, supporters were treated to a wonderful exhibition of GVL netball as Seymour led by one at the end of the first term, before Mooroopna took a two-goal advantage into the main break.
Seymour reduced the margin to a goal at three-quarter time, before hitting the front in the last term. However, Mooroopna managed to steady the ship and produce a thrilling win.
Lions coach Ellie O’Sullivan said while it was a disappointing result, they now knew what they needed to improve on.
“We knew coming in that it was going to be tough and we’ve got a tough run into finals,” O’Sullivan said.
“In saying that, these are the games we want to be a part of. We want to be challenged because Mooroopna came out and put on a good performance and I think mentally we slipped in and out of that game.”
O’Sullivan highlighted Sarah Szczykulski and Jordyn Beattie’s defensive performances on court as standouts for the visitors, with Beattie stepping up from Seymour’s 17-and-under division to match it with a tough A-grade opponent.
“Those two were probably our best-on-court, but Courtney Aldous was down that end too, so I think as a unit that was really good,” she said.
For Mooroopna, which currently sits third on the ladder, coach Di Hanslow said it was a much-needed result.
“It was a really outstanding effort by the girls,” Hanslow said.
“They just really supported each other and stuck to their tasks that we gave them at the start and they’ve been rewarded with the result.”
Hanslow said with the scores so tight throughout the contest, her side just played the game out.
She said it was a real collective effort to get over the line on the day, with players backing up from B-grade to play in the top division.
“You just keep going until the very end and that’s what they did,” Hanslow said.
“They didn’t allow the score to dictate how they felt out there, they just kept playing and giving it their all and the result took care of itself.
“I thought our defence did really well in Ella Ogier and Ashley Lancaster. I thought Shelby Britten did a fantastic job on Casey Adamson, even though I think Casey played brilliantly too, and then I thought Elle Brooks was fantastic for us in goals as well.”