Seymour coach Ben Davey labelled his side’s 25-point win over a gallant Tatura as a mature performance to ensure it heads into next week’s top-of-the-ladder clash with Echuca on a winning note.
The Lions ― faced with a road trip to Tatura Park, seven changes out of the previous week’s squad and up against a strong host ― were made to work hard for their eighth win of the Goulburn Valley League season.
Jack O’Sullivan was enormous with 35 disposals, 10 clearances and seven tackles, while Huw Jones had his “best game of the season” with a 28-touch, five rebound 50s outing.
Tatura, bolstered by the inclusions of VFL brother duo Liam and Mitch Podhajski, brought the fight right up to one of the league’s leading premiership fancies.
Liam was important in the ruck with 28 hit-outs and 10 inside 50s, while Mitch booted four goals from his 20 disposals.
Harley McCarthy, fresh from injury, was Tatura’s standout performer across half-back with 30 disposals and six score involvements.
Each of the four quarters was a tight tussle, but it was the final five to 10 minutes of each that allowed the visitors to gain an advantage and run out 13.10 (88) to 9.9 (63) winners.
“It was a bit of a danger game for us. I’m extremely proud of the playing group and it just shows maturity,” Davey said.
“We had seven changes from last week, so it was a little bit unsettling, but all seven have played ones last year, so it shows the club is in a good space. I thought they did a really good job.”
Seymour’s efficiency going forward proved decisive, with the Lions registering 51 per cent scoring efficiency compared to Tatura’s 32.
Ben Cooney was influential for Seymour and did a job on Tatura gun Chris Ryan.
Cooney registered 18 disposals, nine intercept possessions and six rebound 50s.
Tatura coughed up the ball 61 times ― up from its per game average of 55 ― and 10 of those came in the defensive 50 which allowed Seymour to pounce.
The Lions scored 10.6 from turnovers, and 3.2 came from inside their forward 50, with Davey highlighting it was an area of the game of major focus for his side.
“It was something we spoke about, putting more pressure on their ball use,” he said.
“They like to put numbers up on the ball so it forces you to use the ball quick and if you don’t move it quickly and hit targets you get found out.
“I thought Tatura has definitely improved from last year, they have recruited well by the looks.”
O’Sullivan and Jones, who both missed the 2022 season due to injuries, received praise from Davey for their efforts on Saturday.
“I’m really happy for those two after they missed all of last year,” he said.
“It was definitely Huw’s best game of the season, he found plenty of the ball and he used it well too.
“And Jack is a freak. He’s getting back to that high level and he just leads by example.”