Merging from the Hume Hwy onto the Goulburn Valley Fwy on Sunday morning, a myriad of signs supporting Seymour’s B Reserve netball side littered the roadside, but one proved more prophetic than the rest.
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“Come on Lions – rip them apart!”
That they certainly did.
Meeting Shepparton United at Deakin Reserve with a Goulburn Valley League three-peat on the line, the Lions put on an absolute clinic, exploding to a decisive break by quarter time to claim their third consecutive title and fourth in five years with a monster 33-21 victory.
First-year coach Sarah Waite, who was a playing part of the previous three Lions flags in ’22, ’24 and ’25, was full of praise for her squad at the final siren, who ensured Seymour emerged from the 2026 season with a premiership despite the B Reserve side being the only group to advance to a decider.
“Oh, yes it is,” she laughed when prompted that coaching may not actually be that difficult.
“First year and I got gifted such a great team to coach, all the girls (are great).”
Heading into the clash having lost their two clashes with United throughout the season, the Lions were looking to shock their opponents on their own home court, and by quarter time, they had managed to silence the rowdy Demons crowd.
Under a scorching sun, the Lions brought an intensity to match, and the midcourt of Casey Drummond, Layne Lewis and Taylah Mason were immediately on top of their Demons counterparts, sweating on everything and forcing hurried passes and simple mistakes to generate plenty of scoring opportunities.
It was matched by Chloe Locke and Mia Allen in the shooting circle, both firing early as Seymour took a 5-0 lead in a matter of minutes, and not to be outdone at the other end, Sophie Locke and Kira Nelson made sure any United look at goal was under immense duress, often thwarting the forays forward before they even got into the circle.
It was a massive statement from the Lions early, who walked back into the quarter time huddle with an 11-4 lead, and while they still had to put in the work, they were largely untroubled from there.
“Definitely (the fast start was important),” Waite said post-game.
“We've tried to focus on that throughout the year, and the girls did amazing.
“But we just start 15 minutes at a time, we refresh after each quarter, and they just treat it as if we're back at zero each quarter and we've got to work our way back up.
“The girls came out firing, they really wanted it today, and that showed on court.”
The intensity from Seymour never wavered, and by half time they were out to a 10-goal lead, up 20-10, with the long shots falling in and the 50-50 balls bouncing their way.
The ball movement was another standout feature of the Lions’ game, too, with their movement ensuring an avenue to a shot never took much longer than four of five passes end to end, much to the delight of Waite.
“The focus was definitely bringing the ball down,” she said.
“If we ever got a turnover, how well the defenders connected with the attackers (was an indicator), and they did that really well...
“Even with the goalers, (it was important that) the goal shooter is the one holding and the goal attacker is the one moving.
“It was just really making sure that they knew, ‘I’m in this position, this is my role,’ and making sure you played your role.”
By three-quarter time, the game was all but over, with the Lions weathering a Demons fightback after half time to maintain a 27-18 lead at the final change, and after going to an – at the time - equal game-high 11-goal advantage early in the final term, it was party time.
It was fitting that the final goal of the game came from the hands of Chloe Locke and extended the margin to a game-high 12 goals, with Locke named best on court by the umpires for her presence in the circle.
The win caps a historic era for the B Reserve side, who have been perhaps the most dominant netball team in their respective division across all GVL grades in the past five seasons, with Waite thankful to be part of the group.
“When I got the coaching position, they said, ‘hopefully you can get the three-peat for the team,’ and I was like, oh, no pressure,” she laughed.
“But we had a completely different side this year, I think we had three girls on the team that are the same as in the starting seven last year.
“The defence end was completely different, so it was really just building on what we knew, and coaching and just teaching the new players ways to play and how to be a good Lion netballer.
“It's just a great club.”