After a number of underwhelming performances in their last month of football, Seymour co-coach Ben Clifton said his side looked a lot closer to its best against Shepp United.
‘‘We hit targets and started the game really well,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘We were doing what we should have been doing to other sides, so hopefully we can take a bit of that consistency going forward.’’
Seymour young gun Philip Soloman returned to the side after lining up in a number of state representative games and made an immediate impact, kicking four goals for the Lions.
‘‘It’s always good to have Phil in the side,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘You find he doesn’t need to have a lot of touches to have an impact.
‘‘Though earlier in the season he’d been a little inconsistent with his four quarters.
‘‘But he kicked a goal in every quarter on the weekend and was really consistent.
‘‘And he definitely gives us that X-factor.’’
With a number of players impressing in the win, it was Seymour defender Kier Bol who was named best on ground in the win.
‘‘He rebounded from the backline really well,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘He was unintentionally the free man, with Shepp having one forward, so every time they went forward they kicked it to Kier.’’
It will be fourth versus third this weekend when Seymour hosts Tatura on Saturday, with the Bulldogs also coming off their own 15 -point win against top six side Benalla on Saturday.
And while the match looks set to be a challenge for Seymour, a tough game could be exactly what the Lions need to really perform at their best.
‘‘We’ve found we actually play a bit better footy against the better sides,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘We’ll look for another four quarter performance — hopefully Saturday was the start of that.’’
With Seymour’s injury list shortening in recent weeks, the Lions could be bolstered with a number of key players, though it continues to be a case of ‘‘wait and see’’ with Lions’ stars Zac Keogh and Kyle Winter-Irving.
Final score: Shepparton United 3.6 (24) def by Seymour 15.12 (102)
Goal kickers: P. Soloman 4, J. Anderson 3, R. Scopel 2, H. Taylor-Lloyd 2, T. Hedley 2, D. Scopel, D. Cook
Best players: K. Bol, T. Hedley, A. Johnston, P. Soloman, J. Anderson, M. Waite.
Reserves
Seymour’s playing depth received a massive boost on Saturday, with several players returning from injury to feature in the Lions’ 107-point reserves win over Shepp United.
Ahead by 46 points at the main break, the Lions kicked 11 goals to one in the second half to inflict a thrashing upon United in Round 9 of the GV League competition.
Seymour’s senior co-coach Ben Clifton returned for his first game of football this year and kicked three goals, Chris Jackson and Michael Bradbury starred in their first games back, while Nick Clydesdale joined Max Jones in kicking five goals apiece.
‘‘Our injury list had been getting quite long, up in the high teens,’’ Clifton said.
‘‘But we had about seven return through reserves on Saturday.
‘‘It really strengthens our depth.
‘‘Fourteen blokes in the reserves played seniors last year, so there was a strong mix of experience and youth in the side.’’
More pictures, page 22.
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