On a 10-game winning streak of its own, Seymour hosted the unbeaten premiership favourite, Shepparton, at Kings Park on Saturday and did what no other side has been able to do all season – match it.
With the Bears chasing a perfect 18-0 record at the weekend, the Lions rained on their parade, sort of, splitting the points in an enthralling 54-54 draw to perhaps rattle the confidence of the seemingly untouchable Bears on the eve of the post-season.
In a game full of momentum swings, the Lions raced out to a fast start on their home court, dominating in every third across the first term to hold a 15-9 lead by quarter time.
But the Bears are unbeaten for a reason, and roared to life with a blistering second term that saw them claim the lead by half time.
It was a fairly even start to the second quarter; however, Shepparton star Kim Borger soon took hold, and combining with Sophie Harmer, propelled the Bears back to even status with seven straight goals, tying the score at 21-all.
While Seymour rallied and found a way to break the unanswered run, the Bears tipped in seven of the last nine goals of the first half to pull away, leading 28-24 at the main break after what had been a 19-9 term.
With great composure, however, the Lions adjusted at the break and began steadily clawing back the margin as the third quarter got under way, with Ruby Martin joining Ellie Fuhrmeister in the attacking end and whittling away the deficit.
By three-quarter time, the Lions once again had reclaimed the lead, shrugging off the torrid nature of the second term to outscore the Bears 16-10 in the third and head into the final quarter of the home and away season, against the ladder-leading, unbeaten flag fancies, with a 40-38 lead.
It looked as though the hard work was going to be to no avail as the final term got under way, as Shepparton found another gear and exploded out of the gate, firing home 11 of the first 15 goals to retake the lead by five.
Seymour refused to die, however, and in what could be a huge mental blow to the Bears if the two sides meet in the finals series, waged an epic comeback, taking the lead at 51-50.
The frantic final minutes saw the two sides go goal-for-goal, with the Bears securing the 54-all draw with the final shot of the game.
Despite splitting the points, it is an incredibly encouraging result for the Lions, who now enter the finals series unbeaten in their past 11 games (10 wins, one draw) and finish the regular season in third with a 14-2-2 record, having beaten reigning premier Euroa and clinched a draw against Shepparton, the only sides to finish above them.
The Lions will face sixth-placed Shepparton Swans this weekend in the first elimination final, which is set to take place at Moon Oval in Rochester at 4pm on Saturday.
In the other grades, Seymour’s B-grade and B Reserve sides both finished on top of their respective ladders, and will play in back-to-back qualifying finals on Sunday at Benalla Showgrounds, with B Reserve set for an 11:45am start against Shepparton United, followed by B-grade at 1pm against Euroa.
