‘‘They’re showing us promising signs but it’s how we harness that in the next few games and next year,’’ he said.

‘‘The team is trying, it’s just that things aren’t falling into place for them as they need to be.

‘‘It’s challenging for everyone. No one likes to lose. It’s how we learn from losing that matters.’’

Chapman can’t fault his charges at training, but it is bringing that form to game day that is a concern. And he’s not targeting ‘‘winnable’’ games.

‘‘We just have to take each week as it comes,’’ he said.

‘‘At the end of the day we’re the team on the bottom of the ladder that everyone else wants to play. We’re working hard not to be that team and put in a four-quarter performance.’’

Shooter Millie Brock was the standout for the Lions, despite a tough day in the goal circle.

‘‘I thought she has come on really well and did everything she had to do to give the team a little bit of extra space,’’ Chapman said.

‘‘She gives us a presence and was hard on the ball.’’

B-GRADE

A slow start didn’t help the B-grade side in a tough test, and it eventually went down 66-27.

‘‘They (Demons) put pressure on every pass and made it really difficult for us to have any run on the ball,’’ coach Cathy McInerney said.

‘‘They forced us to play wide and the first option wasn’t always there so we were always looking for another one.’’

While the Lions kept plugging away, great one-on-one defence by United added to their woes.

Like some of the other Seymour netball sides, B-grade made some positional changes to see how players coped elsewhere in a bid to get the right balance. There was some short-term success too.

‘‘Our third quarter was brilliant (Seymour outscored United 13-11) and that’s how I want them to play four quarters.

‘‘(Shooter Lyndel O’Sullivan) didn’t miss and our flow down the court was great. We started to play a similar game to them but the fourth quarter wasn’t great. (The Demons) were relentless.’’

O’Sullivan apart, defenders Rachel Mundy and Jasmine Smith again stood out, as did Liz Fuhrmeister, who came on at wing defence at half-time.

B-RESERVE

It was also a tough day for the B-reserve side on the wrong side of a 88-21 scoreline.

However, the team was simply beaten by a better side.

‘‘I think our endeavour was there but (the Demons) are a classy side in all areas of the court,’’ coach Tegan Hansen said.

‘‘We needed to create some space and drive hard at the ball and the girls had a great attitude going in to the day but they were just too good for us on the day.’’

Hansen experimented with positions, giving players the chance to show what they could do elsewhere on the court.

Standouts were Natalia Morgan, Demi Cox and Isabella Morgan.

UNDER-17

The under-17 side suffered its first loss for the season, going down 46-32 to the defending premiers and one of the best sides in the competition, despite leading 16-6 at the first break.

Then the Demons made three changes and won the second term to go into half-time one in front, extending that lead in each of the final two terms.

Coach Abby Misiti wasn’t too disheartened by the result.

‘‘It really gives us a good indication of where we’re at,’’ she said.

Rosie O’Sullivan was outstanding for the side, as much for her leadership as anything, and Virginia Morgan capped a good day for the Morgan sisters, shining at wing attack, with the side’s youngest player starting to really come into her own.

Misiti trialled some different combinations in the second half.

‘‘It’s good to do that against a hard team, because you can be misled doing it against a weaker team,’’ she said.

‘‘Some of the combinations didn’t come off as we hoped but at the end of the day (United) were a much more polished team.

‘‘I told the girls not to get to down on themselves, what matters come September is that we use our knowledge from these games. At the end of the day, if you can stay with someone for one quarter, I can’t see why you can’t do it for another three quarters.’’