Gallery | Lions pounce on wayward Demons

To keep the boxing analogy going, it was more of a points decision rather than a clean knockout, with the Lions pinching a 9.7 (61) to 5.16 (46) victory over the wayward Demons, who lacked the ability to land the killer strike.

While Seymour hit the scoreboard with the opening major of the contest via Riley Mason, United would dominate much of the remainder of the first term, registering the next six scoring shots, but continual blunders meant they were unable to capitalise, scoring six behinds.

The Lions landed another shot to the body against the run of play with the next major to Ricky Schraven, making it two goals from as many scoring opportunities, and while Joel Serra finally gave the Demons a goal shortly before the quarter time break, their dominance was wasted, heading into the huddle level at 12 points apiece.

Inaccuracy seemed contagious as the Lions would start to miss in front of goal in the second term, too, with seven scoring shots yielding 2.5 for the visitors, however it was good enough to create the first gap in the contest, with the home side kicking just the one major to hand the Lions a 4.5 (29) to 2.10 (22) lead at the main break.

It was a stunning scoreline, and one that suggested that with some tidier finishing, the Demons should be well in front, and the third term began to play out in exactly that fashion.

Three unanswered majors, two to Jordan Loverso and one to Serra, to open the second half saw United out to a game-high 14-point lead, and having seemingly fixed their woes in front of goal, looked like breaking the game open.

But the Lions continued to grind away and make the most of their opportunities going forward, replying with three goals of their own to Mason, Tom Jeffrey and Tom Stapleton to reclaim the lead heading into the final term, albeit by only four points, to set up a thrilling finale.

It would be a telling final term, though, in which the scoreline acted as a miniature version of the overall contest, with the Lions taking their chances in front of goal to put the contest beyond reach.

Mason would open the scoring with his third major of the game to put Seymour 10 points to the good, and while Serra looked to respond at the other end, he fluffed his lines, kicking yet another behind.

The pain was exacerbated by a Thomas Martin goal late in the contest, pushing the Seymour lead out to 16 points, and while Loverso had the opportunity to keep the slimmest of chances alive for the Demons late, he too was unable to convert.

A 2.1 final term for the Lions, while keeping the Demons to 0.2, was enough to see them run out 15-point victors, despite United having five more scoring shots across the contest.

Dylan Cook led the way for Seymour, kicking a goal amid a best on ground performance to continue what has become a rich vein of form for the midfielder, likewise for big man Stapleton, while usual suspects Jack Murphy and Huw Jones were also influential, and Mason finished with a game-high three goals.

Jordan Haynes was United’s best in the loss, kicking a goal in the process, while Loverso was the only other multiple goal kicker aside from Mason in the contest with two majors.

The win represents a huge swing on the ladder, too, with Seymour now moving back up to third on 28 points (7-3) through 10 games following Shepparton Swans’ loss to Echuca, while United find themselves outside the top six, sitting seventh on 20 points (5-5) after Kyabram claimed victory on Saturday to leap into sixth spot on percentage.

Both Seymour and United face big contests in round 11, with the Lions hosting Kyabram at Kings Park as they look to make it three wins on the trot and solidify their standing inside the top four, while the Demons face a stiff test on the road against a Rochester side finding form at Moon Oval.