Sport

Brave Saints fall short against rampaging Lions

By Alexander Dabb

Apr 6, 2026

Benalla made a bright start to its first Goulburn Valley League senior football contest of the season at the weekend, but ultimately fell short against Seymour. Photo: Locked In Media.

A new era at Benalla officially got under way at the weekend with Nick Pearson helming the Saints in their opening round Goulburn Valley League senior football clash against Seymour on Saturday at Benalla Showgrounds.

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But while the new-look Saints took the fight to the Lions early in a competitive start to the contest, they were ultimately unable to overcome a strong Seymour outfit, falling 8.8 (56) to 16.13 (109).

There were debutants aplenty for Benalla in round one, with imports Mitchell Vasterink, Kevin Maroney, Travis Young and Dublin Anderson presented Saints guernseys ahead of their club debuts, all four keen to make an immediate impact in the red, white and black.

But the day belonged to club stalwart James Martiniello, a premiership Saint, former captain and senior coach, who played his 250th senior contest in a remarkable achievement, cementing his status as a legend at Benalla.

It looked as though Benalla was going to be in for a tough afternoon in the opening stages as 2024 GVL leading goal-kicker Riley Mason, back full time with the Lions in 2026 after a stint at Collingwood VFL last year, kicked off proceedings with the opening major, followed by another goal to Lion Lewis Lubeck, as Seymour raced out to a quick start.

The Saints countered through 2025 GVL leading goal-kicker Nathan Wright, though, who booted two goals for the term either side of a second Mason major, to keep the home side in touch at quarter-time, down 2.3 (15) to 3.4 (22).

It would be Mason again that was central to proceedings in the second term, booting another three goals as Seymour began to build a decent advantage, outscoring the Saints five goals to three as the likes of Lions co-coach Jack Murphy and Jack Peris also hit the scoreboard.

New Saint Vasterink became involved in the contest, too, with the towering big man booting two majors to help keep Benalla within striking distance at the main break, although with some work to do, as it headed into the sheds trailing by 20 points, behind 36 to 56.

While Benalla started brightly after half-time, booting the first goal of the second half through Ethan Maney, it was in the third term that the Lions put the game to bed.

James Martiniello is chaired off by skipper Chris Welsh and Nick Mellington after his 250th senior game on Saturday. Photo: Meredith Tolliday.

The Saints brought the margin back to 14 points in the opening minutes, but a run of five straight unanswered goals to Seymour saw the lead balloon out to 47 points by the final break, as the Lions exerted all of their class and experience to wrest control of the contest.

Benalla evened things up somewhat in the last term, stemming the bleeding slightly as Wright and skipper Chris Welsh hit the scoreboard, however, Seymour was able to extend the lead again by a further six points by the final siren to win by the eventual 53 points.

Maroney made a positive impact for the Saints in his first game at the club as his side’s best, joined by fellow debutant Young, while the evergreen Nicholas Warnock was also among the most influential alongside David Mennen and Maney.

Wright led the way for the Saints in terms of scoring, booting three goals, while Maney and Vasterink each added two, while Welsh rounded out the scorers with a solitary major.

For Seymour, it was co-coach Murphy named best afield, winning plenty of the ball through the middle of the ground, while Mason finished his afternoon with a big bag of eight goals to head straight to the top of the goal-kicking tally after round one.

Benalla will look to regroup this weekend when it faces a stern test against Echuca in round two, with the contest to be played at Tongala Recreation Reserve.