GVL | Gallery | Seymour clinches A-grade premiership with win over Shepparton United

A fitting finale to what has been a nail-biting GVL season, the game began with both teams looking to get on the front foot first.

Errors at both ends early left the door open; however, neither side pounced on the turnovers.

United’s Sophie Garner opened the scoring before Lions coach Ellie O’Sullivan drew her side level moments later.

From here it was an arm wrestle and while United’s experience saw the side build a slim 7-5 lead, multiple turnovers saw the margin reversed, before a coast-to-coast move to Seymour saw goaler Jess Lallo put the Lions in front.

At quarter-time, the Lions held a 12-9 lead; however, early in the second term United fought back, the players using all of their experience to make it 15-all.

Despite pegging back the three-goal margin, the joy was short-lived as Seymour produced an 11-0 blitz to end the second term.

Led by a strong defensive effort by best-on-court defender Sarah Szczykulski and teammate Nakita Singe, the Lions used their speed and skills to shock their opponents.

Heading into half-time with a 26-15 lead, the Lions were in the box seat, but coach O’Sullivan knew the game remained in the balance.

“United are such a good team and they’re so capable of bouncing back,” O’Sullivan said.

“We said it at half-time, 10 goals is not enough, we know that United can come back at us, so we wanted to make sure that we just stuck to our processes and were able to get up by a bit more.”

And United did just that.

As the teams hit the courts after the main break, United re-entered the contest, with goaler and three-time Wellman medallist Jessie Barnes shooting well to help cut the margin to six.

With backs against the wall, Seymour showed some character and their goalers stood up at the right time, with O’Sullivan and Lallo on target at the crucial stage in the game.

Despite the early onslaught, Seymour’s defence recovered, allowing the side to re-build its lead and head into the last quarter 40 to 28 in front.

When the teams entered the arena for the final term, the girls from Kings Park continued their day out.

As the quarter drew closer to an end, both coaches went off, with United mentor Kara Blizzard and the Lions’ O’Sullivan allowing their teammates to finish out the game.

The game was all Seymour’s after the changes and, as the Lions faithful chanted the club’s name, the final whistle sounded with the side running out 14-goal winners.

Speaking after the game, Seymour coach Ellie O’Sullivan had “no words” to describe the result.

“It’s such a privilege to share it with our whole senior playing group,” she said.

“Every single player here deserved that win today, so it’s just gob-smacking that we were able to achieve it.”

Alongside best-on-court Szczykulski, several Seymour talents stood out on the day, with Casey Adamson, Nakita Singe and Courtney Aldous standing up in defence.

“I knew that everyone would have to fire to get the win today and I think every player that took the court was able to do that,” O’Sullivan said.

“I’m just so proud of everyone, everyone has worked really hard and now we can celebrate the season which we’ve had.”

The result was a disappointing one for United after another strong showing from the girls from Deakin Reserve.

Blizzard pulled her side aside after the game, with the United mentor letting them know how proud she was of their efforts.

“Just to let them know that we made it this far and there are a lot of other teams sitting on the sideline and they wanted our spot where we were,” Blizzard said.

“We’ve had a lot of bad luck, a lot of injuries, had B-grade players come up to pull on the shoes, so I’m really proud of the girls.”

It was goal for goal through much of the game, but Blizzard said lack of composure contributed to the defeat.

“You’ve got to have a bit of luck on the day — that’s my theory in sport no matter what,” she said.

“It’s who turns up, and Seymour definitely turned up and capitalised on our mistakes.”

The A-grade result added to what was a remarkable day for the Seymour Football Netball Club, with the B-reserve and B-grade teams securing respective flags in thrilling fashion.

Finishing minor premier, Seymour’s second A-grade netball flag in a row was well deserved.