But those reputations were ground into the Kings Park turf for the second time in 10 months. For a vastly different Seymour to the team that thrashed the pitiful Tigers in a semi-final last October again ruthlessly exposed Rochester as flat-track bullies with little heart. When the ball, and the game, was there to be won, there was only one team in it, despite the closeness of the final score.

There were many heroes. Every Lion played a part. But some names deserve special mention. And who more so than Matt O’Keefe?

Coming back from a hamstring injury sustained in the interleague game in May, O’Keefe was well short of match fitness and was up against an opponent, Grant Weeks, who has scored freely for the Tigers this season and came with a huge wrap.

But Weeks left Kings Park with his footballing reputation in tatters. O’Keefe destroyed him, and Trent Fisher finished the job. A defence missing O’Keefe’s brother Tim stood up when it counted.

And there were others. Adrian McCarthy, for the third time in a year, dismantled Ash Watson. It was almost a year since McCarthy’s breakout game against the same opponent and he has gone from strength to strength since.

Paul Colbert and Brandyn Grenfell, with crucial defensive marks in the final term, had a hunger their opponents didn’t. Colbert moved to the ruck in the second term and turned the flow of the game around. Saad Saad came through with a late speccy through a pack and seven goals against an opponent he loves scoring against. Harry Wheeler, who taught his much bigger opponents how to win the contested ball, kicked the sealing goal for good measure.

Brendan Liddell, dominated the midfield, and Brad Deed played his best game since last year’s finals series. And of course Robbie Douglas, as classy as ever, was perhaps the Lions’ best on the day.

It all looked far from likely when the Tigers came out firing, kicking a goal almost from the first ball-up and dominating a free-flowing game.

That was never going to suit the Lions, who needed a scrap and a low-scoring affair. And as soon as the Lions tightened the game up, Rochester had few answers. The Tigers didn’t want to compete for the hard ball, and got lazy.

Seymour was poor by foot early in the second term but the decision to move Colbert into the ruck turned the game. Douglas dominated as the Lions roared into the lead.

But as good as Seymour’s second quarters have been this season, the third terms have been poor. The Lions were braced for a Rochester fightback and it came, but while it saw the Tigers kick three goals, and go up by 22, Seymour took it back to a contested game and only trailed by nine at the final break.

It seemed primed for a big Lions finish and so it proved. The Lions kicked the first four goals, and later Wheeler sealed what must be the most satisfying Seymour win for a long time.

Robertson summed it up later.

‘‘That’s got to be the best win we’ve had because of the month we’ve had,’’ he said.

‘‘We’ve had a death in the family (Eamonn O’Connor), a kick in the arse (loss to Kyabram) and a break. They copped a spray on Thursday night about training and attitudes when I questioned them about playing finals footy.

‘‘I told them to give me an answer before the team meeting (on Saturday) and the answer was they were hungry.’’

Seymour made a conscious effort to pressure Rochester.

‘‘We couldn’t let them have easy access to (Weeks and fellow forward Luke Gestier) and the instructions were if they had it, to smash the contest.

‘‘We smashed it that hard we rebounded it back to us and it gave us a lot of the ball. We also threw the kids to the wolves and they didn’t disappoint.’’

Robertson admitted being worried after Rochester’s start but a settling goal to Saad calmed the nerves. The third quarter effort, despite Rochester having three times as many forward 50 entries, was largely due to the backline standing up after the Tigers got some easy access.

And the coach couldn’t have praised O’Keefe enough.

‘‘I’ve seen Weeksy play a few games and he’s tremendous but Matt was all over him, all over (Elliot) Bowen and anyone else we sent him to. He’s been as frustrated as me over this season but you can see how good he is.’’

Shepparton Bears and Echuca are next, but Robertson doesn’t want his players to become complacent. Tim O’Keefe and Jason Cole should return for the trip to Deakin Reserve.

‘‘Our approach and attitude can’t be relaxed now,’’ Robertson said.

‘‘We can’t now come out and be mediocre. I would be bitterly disappointed if we didn’t get ourselves up for (the Bears). We made a statement (on Saturday) even when we were down on size, talent and experience and the self belief is definitely there.

‘‘At the end of the day what they’ve done is put pressure on themselves. I’ll expect that level every week.’’

Seymour1.2, 5.5, 7.6, 12.7 (79)

Rochester3.1, 5.2, 8.9, 9.10 (64)

GOALS, Seymour: S. Saad 7, H. Robertson 2, H. Wheeler, A. McCarthy, R. Douglas.

BEST, Seymour: P. Colbert, S. Saad, R. Douglas, M. O’Keefe, H. Robertson, B. Grenfell.RESERVES

The seconds were always up against it with the seniors’ injury toll, and could field just 18 players en route to a 105-point loss.

By the end of the game there were just 15 fit players going around after losing two to concussion and another to a corked hip. The struggle for numbers in recent weeks has seen Seymour slip three games from a finals spot. The team’s percentage has taken a hammering, which could come back to haunt it.

Coach Shane Cockerell knows crunch time has come.

‘‘We’ve got a huge month of footy coming up,’’ he said.

‘‘The next four or five weeks could decide whether we’re going towards finals.’’

Those games will be against sides around the Lions on the ladder, but on Saturday Tom Robertson was the standout for Seymour.

‘‘The boys were flat in the first half but the second half was much better,’’ Cockerell said.

‘‘Again to their credit they kept fighting on and showed glimpses of what good football they can play. The frustration is just in getting a full side on the park.’’

Rochester7.2, 11.4, 16.7, 19.14 (128)

Seymour0.1, 1.5, 2.5, 3.5 (23)

GOALS, Seymour: C. Clydesdale, S. Feery, H. Szczykulski.

BEST, Seymour: T. Robertson, S. Feery, K. Robertson, D. Sporle, D. Inness, F. Canobie.UNDER-18

A seven-goal win in wet and slippery conditions has Seymour sitting in third spot on the league ladder.

The Lions held Rochester goalless in the first term and appeared set for a big win, but were outplayed in the second quarter.

‘‘They were more determined than us and adjusted to the slippery conditions better,’’ coach Matt O’Sullivan said.

‘‘We tried to overuse the football but after assessing things at half-time, the boys adjusted very well and played a terrific second half where we only allowed them two points.’’

The key was going back to one-on-one footy. Seymour also overcame some injury concerns, with Tim Dundon (knee), James Wooster and Jamie Pryor (both shoulder) ensuring the Lions ended the game with no bench.

‘‘That tested our mettle but the boys ran hard and tackled hard,’’ Matt O’Sullivan said.

‘‘We’ve lost some games to teams lower than us on the ladder and we learned from previous experience and bounced back pretty hard.’’

Standouts included on-ballers Jack Murphy and Wooster, Ben Tarran in his best game this year, Rhys Clarke, Jordan Zuccala, Tom Martin, and Luke Chapman, while the defence led by Tim O’Sullivan and Aidan Sharp again shone.

Seymour3.2, 5.6, 6.11, 10.11 (71)

Rochester0.2, 4.3, 4.3, 4.5 (29)

GOALS, Seymour: L. Chapman 2, J. Murphy 2, J. Zuccala, T. Martin, J. Thelen, Q. Pearce, R. Clarke, C. Evans.

BEST, Seymour: J. Murphy, B. Tarran, R. Clarke, T. O’Sullivan, L. McAleer, T. Martin.