For Seymour, a one-point win over Mooroopna doesn’t instil the confidence required to face top-of-the-table Kyabram after the interleague bye.
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On Saturday, the Lions were lucky to scrape through against the Cats when Tom McConville kicked a behind to seal the win.
But Seymour coach Ben Clifton said it was Mooroopna that was the better team for more than 100 minutes of the game.
‘‘We’ll definitely take the win and the four premiership points, but how we got them, that’s not how we would like to play and act in the future,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘We were very undisciplined.’’
Clifton in part refers to two incidents that saw Seymour’s Harry Taylor-Lloyd yellow carded for rough conduct and Dylan Scopel red carded for headbutting or making forceful contact — an act that sends him straight to tribunal.
The lack of judgement temporarily left Seymour with 16 players on the field in the third term, though the Lions were lucky that Mooroopna didn’t fully capitalise on the advantage.
And in a moment of confusion, it was these two omissions that saw Mooroopna unsuccessfully call a head count when Seymour returned to a full strength 18-player side once the allocated time had passed.
The rules stipulate that a yellow carded player can return to the field after 15 minutes, while a red card can see a player replaced after 30 minutes — although not the player who was red carded.
‘‘There was heaps of confusion at the time, but we were confident in the rules to spend players back on. We had someone in front of the time box to make sure,’’ Clifton said.
Despite the slim margin, it was the Lions’ midfield group of Jason Cole, Zac Keogh and Tom Freeman who once again stood up for the team.
‘‘Jase, Keogh, they were sensational, and definitely the catalyst in the victory for us,’’ Clifton said.
With the bye for interleague this weekend — in which Cole will represent the league — the Lions will now turn their attentions to the undefeated Kyabram in two weeks’ time.
It looms as a massive game for the Lions.
‘‘I had a big focus on being in a good position at this point in the season, a minimum of 3-3, so to be at 4-2 is great,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘But if we play Kyabram like we did Mooroopna, we’d get thumped.
‘‘‘We need to play like we did against Euroa and Shepp. If we put in a consistent effort and are disciplined, we’ll play very good footy.’’
Final score: Seymour 11.16 (82) def Mooroopna 12.9 (81)
Goals: J. Cole 3, H. Taylor-Lloyd 3, H. Wade, K. Winter-Irving, T. Hedley, A. Adams, M. McLean
Best: J. Cole, Z. Keogh, T. Freeman, T. Hedley, J. Wooster, H. Wade.
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