Cricket Victoria announced on Thursday that the 29-year-old from Bendigo was one of 29 players to earn a contract for the 2021-22 season.

Seymour joined Strathfieldsaye product Xavier Crone on a full contract, while former Sandhurst spinner Todd Murphy and Bendigo junior Sam Elliott remain on rookie contracts.

Former White Hills keeper-batsman Brayden Stepien once again was a notable absentee, heightening speculation that the left-hander could be on the move interstate to further his opportunities at the next level.

After winning the Ryder Medal in Victorian Premier Cricket in 2019-20, Seymour scored 822 runs for Essendon last season at an average of 91, before making 60 in his Shield debut against South Australia.

"It's taken me a long time to get to where I am now, and not many people get their first contract at the age of 29, but I'm hoping I can forge a five or six-year career if I can,'' Seymour said.

"You look at guys like Dan Christian still playing in the Big Bash and it's quite common for more experienced players to be playing at that level.

"The aim for me now is to see if I can play as long as I can. Starting my professional career a bit later will probably help me.

"I've played a fair bit of cricket, but my body might be in a better position than someone who has played professionally for 10 years.

"The main thing is to train really hard, get a game and then perform really well."

Victorian coach Chris Rogers was full of praise for Seymour.

"It's a credit to him to get this opportunity at 29 years of age,'' Rogers said.

"He may have thought this chance was past him, but he's forced his selection by scoring heavily in Premier Cricket.

"It shows there are still opportunities for mature players if they can consistently perform."

Seymour was told of the impending state contract weeks ago which put paid to his traditional trip north for the winter to Darwin to play cricket.

While Victoria's official pre-season training starts on June 9, Seymour's been keeping himself busy with fitness sessions.

"I'm cricket obsessed you could say,'' Seymour admitted.

"I've been watching the IPL on the TV or if there's any cricket on, I'll watch it. I've been reading books and listening to podcasts...I've got the cricket bug.

"While I haven't been hitting balls myself, I've been coaching some juniors.

"I've been spending a lot of time at the gym and doing two or three fitness sessions a day, so that I can have my body right to hit the ground running when pre-season starts.

"Once pre-season starts I'll get back into skills, but for now it's all about fitness."

Seymour and Murphy were two of four Victorian players to make their Sheffield Shield debut last summer.

"We are on a journey where our State squad is moving through a planned transition period. The experience our emerging group of players gained this past season will hopefully have them well prepared for the coming season," Cricket Victoria's general manager of cricket Shaun Graf said.

"To be able to get more games into this young emerging group of talented players has been a huge benefit out of an extremely challenging season. 'Buck' (Rogers) and his coaching group did an excellent job in managing the squad given the many hurdles that confronted cricket and sport in general over the past 12 months.

"We'll enter the 2021-22 season having some of the most exciting young cricketing talent in the country along with a number of more experienced players looking for early Australian selection opportunities, including Will Pucovski, Marcus Harris, Aaron Finch, Glenn Maxwell, Peter Handscomb and James Pattinson, and that's an excellent position to be in."

Victorian men's contract list 2021-22:

In: James Seymour, Fergus O'Neill. Out: Patrick Rowe.

Squad: Peter Handscomb (Captain, St Kilda), Scott Boland (Frankston), Xavier Crone (Carlton), Travis Dean (Footscray), Zak Evans (Ringwood), Aaron Finch (Geelong), Jake Fraser-McGurk (Richmond), Seb Gotch (Melbourne), Sam Harper (Melbourne), Marcus Harris (St Kilda), Mackenzie Harvey (Carlton), Jon Holland (Frankston), Nic Maddinson (St Kilda), Glenn Maxwell (Fitzroy Doncaster), Jonathan Merlo (St Kilda), Tom O'Connell (Geelong), Wil Parker (Richmond), James Pattinson (Dandenong), Mitchell Perry (Richmond), Will Pucovski (Melbourne), James Seymour (Essendon), Matt Short (Northcote), Will Sutherland (Prahran).

Rookies: Brody Couch (Geelong), Sam Elliott (Fitzroy Doncaster), Tom Jackson (Geelong), Cameron McClure (Essendon), Todd Murphy (St Kilda), Fergus O'Neill (Melbourne).

Read more: Catch up on all the latest local sport news

Our journalists work hard to provide local, up-to-date news to the community. This is how you can access our trusted content: