The Tigers came into the Goulburn Valley League clash with confidence after sweeping aside the Lions by 79 points in round one, but experienced more significant resistance this time around.
Rochy picked up where it left off in the first quarter, restricting the Lions to one goal while kicking four of their own in the frame.
The lead was stretched beyond 20 in the second, after the Tigers responded to a brief two-goal burst with two of their own to win the period on minor scores.
The Tigers chipped away with three more behinds after the break before the Lions made their move, booting four straight to level the scores at the final change and set up a grandstand finish.
Suddenly drawn into a contest, Rochester regrouped in the fourth, re-establishing its lead with the only major of the fourth to get away nine-point winners, 7.12 (54) to 7.3 (45).
“It was a tough game,” Tigers coach Ash Watson said.
“They brought heaps of pressure, and they're in the top six, so we knew it was going to be a tough pressure game, and it's always hard to win down at Seymour.
“(I'm) happy with the way we started the game, but then we dropped off a bit after half-time, but happy to get away with the win.”
Watson said his side wasn’t able to capitalise on some third-quarter opportunities, which led to Seymour eventually gaining confidence and momentum to stage its comeback.
“We missed a couple of opportunities in front of goal in that third period, and then they just won a few centre clearances and a few contests forward of centre,” he said.
“They got a bit of momentum at home and (were) pretty hard to stop there for a little bit.”
Rochester shared around the goal-kicking duties as no player found the centre of the sticks more than once, while for Seymour, Sam Thomson slotted two.
The Tigers also brought up a pair of milestones in the fixture, Hamish Hooppell playing his 150th senior game, while Drew Lloyd suited up for his first as a Tiger.
Watson had praise for a host of Tigers in the game and throughout the year, Hooppell’s contributions in the ruck identified as key to Rochy’s success.
It’s a huge fortnight ahead for Watson’s men (9-1) as they head into consecutive fixtures against their nearest rivals and fellow top-three sides, Kyabram (10-0) and Echuca (9-1).
The Tigers will host the Bombers at Moon Oval this Saturday.
“We know Ky haven't lost a game yet this year, and we've got a high amount of respect for them as a club and some of the players that they've brought into the club this year,” Watson said.
“They've got a really strong list and it's showing on the results at the moment, so a big challenge for us this week.”
That game will be followed by a trip to Victoria Park on June 28 to face off with Echuca.
Although the Murray Bombers won two of the three meetings between the sides last year, Rochester remained the only team to defeat the three-time champions in 2024.
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