Form is temporary, class is permanent.
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Seymour proved the above point on Saturday, showing the competition its round four loss to Mooroopna was but a bump in the road as the Lions steamrolled Mansfield by 43 goals.
Ruthless at either end, the reigning premier was a cut above from the off as it bounced back with aplomb to deliver the Eagles their fifth loss on the spin.
Winning coach Ellie Fuhrmeister spoke on her side’s performance, saying it was a step closer to recapturing the form which landed it a coveted flag in 2022.
“I think it was really nice to come out and get a confidence boost after our loss last week,” she said.
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Lining up: Shepparton Swans’ Harriet Gall. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 2 of 8
Making inroads: Euroa’s Bree Poole. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 3 of 8
Gall standing tall: Shepparton Swans’ Harriet Gall. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 4 of 8
Reading the play: Euroa’s Grace Warnock. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 5 of 8
Battling: Euroa’s Eliza Hoare and Swans’ Sarah Down. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 6 of 8
Options: Shepparton Swans’ Chelsea McDonald. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 7 of 8
Chest pass: Euroa’s Tylah Marchbank. Photo by Rechelle ZammitImage 8 of 8
Moving it: Shepparton Swans, Sophie Garner. Photo by Rechelle Zammit“We focus a lot in-house about what we wanted to produce on court, and there was a lot of disappointment in the performance we gave last week.
“We knew the areas where we wanted to stand up and show to ourselves we were better than that.
“There are certainly still areas to improve on, it wasn’t our best performance again, so I think we’ll keep working and try and get 60 minutes on the court together.”
Seymour broke out to a 12-goal lead at quarter-time, with Jessica Lallo taking next to no time to find her range inside the attacking end.
Courtney Aldous was immaculate during her 150th senior game, while Casey Adamson upon return to the side was a ball of energy for Seymour in centre, making it tough for Mansfield to get any real momentum as time ticked by.
Seymour’s lead blew out to 26 goals at the half, with Lallo’s confidence evident as she drained one after the other with effortless poise.
Mansfield managed to show some fight in the latter stages, but once the side got the ball into shooting positions, it was only half a job done.
Enter Sarah Szczykulski.
The Lions’ towering goal keeper snapped up any loose balls and made life hellish for the likes of Meg Mahoney, so it was only right the loudest cheers erupted from the travelling fans when the ball nestled through the chain from an Eagles player.
Seymour tapered off a touch in the final quarter, but Fuhrmeister had plenty to take away from the 66-23 win on home court.
“Defensively our girls do such a great job, but in particular our attack end gelled a little bit better than what it did last week,” she said.
“We had some changes with Courtney (Aldous) coming back into the midcourt and with Casey (Adamson) coming in as well always helps to have that versatility out there and her strength.
“To have a bit more of a settled attacking line up gave us a bit more confidence.
“I think Rosie (O’Sullivan) played a really good game, she fought hard and got a few intercepts which was great.”
At Deakin Reserve, Echuca and Shepparton could not be separated with the scoreboard reading 55-apiece at the final hooter.
Mooroopna and Tatura continued their perfect seasons with wins over Kyabram and Rochester respectively, while Euroa blitzed Shepparton Swans 60-39.
Lastly, Shepparton United took four points from its road trip to Benalla, securing a 43-29 triumph.
Senior Sports Journalist