The Lions went behind early, but a poor second quarter seemed to spell the end as Kyabram went into the half-time break 32-23 up.

But these Lions are made of stern stuff and a couple of positional switches — Morgan Zotti to wing attack and Alice Brock to wing defence — was just what Seymour needed.

Zotti provided the drive and Brock showed some great hands bringing the ball back up the court, and the scores were locked up at 40 apiece at three-quarter time.

Despite a few turnovers in the final quarter, Seymour held its nerve best to emerge with the win.

Other standouts included shooters Alice and Rosie O’Sullivan, who shot superbly as usual, with some spectacular goals and moves, making the defensive turnovers count.

Coach Abby Misiti said her side’s focus before the game was on their own game ‘‘and not putting pressure on themselves’’.

‘‘Some of that poor decision-making under pressure (in the final quarter) is something we need to look at going into finals and we need to be aware that it’s just the home-and-away season — it’s finals that count,’’ she said.

‘‘But it’s very exciting to know that we’re this close to the top sides.’’

Ellie O’Sullivan and Chene Clydesdale will this week represent their Shepparton school, Notre Dame, in the Marist carnival in the Western Australian town of Bunbury.

A-GRADE

The scoreboard might have shown a 51-30 defeat, but Seymour should be reasonably happy with its effort against the defending premier.

It looked much worse early, as the Bombers scored the first nine goals en route to a 16-4 lead at the first break. It was a turnaround for Seymour, which has been starting well but then fading.

This time the Lions fought back, and only lost the next two terms by two and one goals respectively, before Kyabram got away slightly again in the last.

Sarah Douglas completed a fine family double for the day, best on court for the netballers as her brother Robbie was for the senior footballers.

Defender Bec Bath was not disgraced in her much-awaited battle with former Lions star Kathryn Hard and took a few good intercepts as well, while midcourter Tegan Hansen also shone in the midcourt.

Coach Ash Chapman said he believed his side had taken confidence from its win against Mooroopna the previous week.

‘‘It was a disappointing start but we were much better across the game,’’ he said.

‘‘At the end of the day we probably didn’t adjust to the perception of the umpires, but if we hadn’t had that 0-9 start.’’

Chapman was particularly pleased with the many youngsters in the side.

‘‘We proved we could match it with the best sides for two-and-a-half quarters and I think we matched up quite well. The scoreboard wasn’t really a reflection of the game. We’re rebuilding and we have showed we can match it.

‘‘They’re growing which is a great sign for the club and for next year. We’ll really be able to get stuck into the pre-season.’’

B-GRADE

Coach Cathy McInerney did something at half-time that she said she’d never done before — and boy did it work with a 41-35 victory.

Seymour started slowly and looked down and out after a sluggish first half effort and it seemed a matter of how far the loss would be.

‘‘We made some basic errors, we chose poorly when passing and in attack we just weren’t choosing the right options,’’ she said.

‘‘Our delivery into the goal circle wasn’t good. When we got it in there (shooter Lyndel O’Sullivan) was on fire.’’

Which made for a tense break.

‘‘I had stern words for the first time ever,’’ McInerney said.

‘‘Purely because I knew they were so much better than the Ky team and I wanted to inspire them to do something. There were a few positional changes and they had a great third quarter and got themselves up.’’

But there was a final twist. The Bombers’ goal shoot was injured in the fourth quarter and former Seymour star and Wellman Medallist Kathryn Hard came on.

However, defender Jasmine Smith ‘‘knew nothing about her’’, McInerney said, and with goal keeper Sarah Brown ensured there would be no late comeback.

‘‘We finally came together as a team and actually had a come-from-behind win,’’ McInerney said.

‘‘It was nice to get that winning feeling back.’’

Brown was ‘‘phenomenal’’ and Jess Hogan and Rachel Mundy at the other end of the court were others to stand out.

B-RESERVE

The Lions lost this one 46-25 but coach Tegan Hansen was thrilled with her side’s effort.

‘‘We had some fantastic court play,’’ she said.

‘‘They were just so positive and went out there and gave it their all. They showed intensity at the ball and did everything that (assistant coach Janet McKenzie) and I have been asking them to do.’’

Hansen said the scoreboard didn’t reflect the game, which was a lot more even. The Lions performed well in all areas and ‘‘that’s all I can ask of them’’.

Standouts were Sophie Gregson, Demi Cox and Paige Hockley.