Following a reserves match which ended in a thrilling draw, Whittlesea’s extra bodies ended up being the difference in the senior’s match, as the Lions surrendered a three-quarter time lead to fall by eight points.
The big news of the day came in the form of a shoulder injury to reigning Morrison Medallist Jack O’Sullivan who, along with Kier Bol and Huwy Jones, was forced out of the game in the second quarter.
Seymour coach Ben Davey provided an update on the star midfielder.
“Jack hurt his shoulder and we will find out a bit more about that after the results of his scans come back later in the week,” Davey said.
“Huwy Jones is the same, he hurt his shoulder, and we had a few blokes only play half a game, so we were a bit light on for numbers by the end.”
Despite the injury concerns, signs were positive for the Lions as they took it right up to the NFNL club in what turned out to be an exciting encounter from start to finish.
Davey said the standard of football was incredibly high and he was happy to see his side challenged throughout the day.
“It was another step in the pre-season process for us. Playing in warm, 32-degree conditions, it was a really hot game from start to finish and the standard was really good throughout the day,” he said.
“It was a fantastic hit-out for us to play against a side of similar standard. The pressure certainly went up a notch from our previous game and, overall, it was definitely a step in the right direction for us.”
Using this as an opportunity to try a few things and perfect the game plan, a number of young players stood out for Seymour in the seniors’ match, with Josh Alford, James Wooster, Tom Hedley, Jack Murphy and Mitch Waite particularly eye-catching.
From a coaching point of view, the day yielded plenty of positives as the squad gears up for a tough start to the GVL season.
“The way we are progressing, it is really positive,” Davey said.
“The first practice game we were still in a bit of training mode and I would say on the weekend the pressure went right up and with that you have to use your skills better and be cleaner around the ball.
“That definitely improved on the weekend. The ball movement was good and overall we were happy.”
