Signs of good things to come

In round 13 of 2018, Seymour was belted to the tune of 101 points by Echuca.

On Saturday, it held its nerve for three quarters of a game of football, before the physicality of the ‘‘brutal Bombers’’ became too much to handle.

Echuca kicked five unanswered goals in the final term, causing the Lions to lose the match by 43 points.

But by the admission of both sides’ coaches, the scoreboard does not tell the full story.

‘‘We really were able to battle it out for the first three quarters,’’ Lions co-coach Jason Cole said.

‘‘In the end their size and physicality got the better of us. Echuca’s a really big-bodied side and they played a physical brand of football that we couldn’t stand up to for the whole game.

‘‘But for those three quarters we were able to match them. It’s huge for our club in terms of the development that we have shown. We are able to stand up against good sides and still play our natural game and that is going to be important for us as the season goes on.’’

Echuca co-coach Andrew Walker said it was clear the competition had improved dramatically across the whole GVL.

‘‘It feels like it has really evened out this season,’’ he said.

‘‘All the sides have made a lot of ground so the year should be really even.

‘‘Both sides have really improved defensively, it was one of those games where neither team could really break through and get a big score on the board.’’

While his team struggled against the physicality of the Bombers, Cole said other areas around the ground were going to need some improvement for his side.

‘‘Our ball use going forward isn’t perfect yet,’’ he said.

‘‘We need to work on how we use the ball and not do things like kicking down the line to contests as they (Echuca) were able to carve us up there.’’

Seymour will line up on Good Friday against Benalla in GVL action.