‘Scoreboard flattered us a bit’: Seymour finds a way to remain unbeaten

By Aydin Payne

May 15, 2023

Big pack flies: Swans' Andrew Riordan tries to spoil Seymour's Josh Alford from marking the ball. Photo by Wayne Herring

Seymour co-coach Michael Hartley said he felt like the 13.15 (93) to 6.10 (46) round six win over Shepparton Swans was a lot more even than what it represented on paper.

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The Lions continued their unbeaten run to start the Goulburn Valley League season with a gritty win at Kings Park, with on-ballers Ben Rigoni (25 disposals, 11 contested possessions) and Jack O’Sullivan (23, eight and seven score involvements) the two standouts for the hosts.

VFL talent Max Clohesy (one goal) was one of the better players for the Swans, while teammates Zac Banch (30 disposals, five clearances) and Murray Bushranger Joeve Cooper provided support.

“I felt like the scoreboard flattered us a bit,” Hartley said.

“They are really fast, have some small players and they like to play quick. It definitely didn’t feel like the scoreboard represented the game at all.

“In terms of where they are at, they’ve had one of the hardest draws to date against the top four or five teams and they look a better side than where they sit on the ladder.

“Nobody really stood out for us and it felt like everyone contributed which is what we want to see ... both Rig (Rigoni) and Jacko (O’Sullivan) have been fantastic for us and feeding the ball out from the contest.”

Locked in: Seymour's Thomas Davey. Photo by Wayne Herring

A dominant five-goal-to-one second term gave Seymour the breathing space it needed over the visitors.

During the second quarter Seymour was able to make the Swans pay on turnovers.

The visitors coughed up 20 turnovers in the term, 13 of those in the midfield, which allowed Seymour to score 4.3 (27) directly from those errors.

The Lions were also more efficient going forward compared to the Swans in that second quarter and finished with 50 per cent scoring efficiency to 20.

Under pressure: Seymour's Lachlan Waite tries to fire off a handball. Photo by Wayne Herring

Hartley said once Seymour began to counter the visitors’ spare player behind the ball it flowed onto the scoreboard.

“Benny (Ben Davey) gave us a bit of a rev-up at quarter-time. Swans gave us a plus-one right from the start of the match and he just raised that with the group,” Hartley said.

“Once we figured that out we were able to use the ball a bit better going forward and instead of playing straight lines we started to use the angles more with our kicks and we hurt them on the inside.”