Grand Final

A gutsy win against quality opposition and the monkey is off our back!

A game that maybe wasn’t as pretty to watch given the talent across both teams, it was a hard fought contest that went down to the last minute of play.

A great first 1/4 lead by our ruckman and BOG big Carlo kept Parkdale goalless and set up the second term for us as we held a 15 point lead at half time.

The weather turned and from that moment on both sides had to fight for every inch of ground.

Parkdale Kicking two quick goals in the 3rd and it was game on.

A late high pressure goal from the seasons leading goal kicker Helmets Lewis and we had a lead to hold.
It was pure desperation and a committed playing group that fought for every touch as we held on to a two point victory.

A massive thank you from me to all of our coaching staff, supporters, volunteers, family & friends and every team mate across all of our grades for what has been a three year mission for our Reserves team, we are so proud to be a part of our Coburg family & this win should be celebrated long and hard by all of us!

Round 9

With a few players returning from, or carrying light injuries and the globe trotting “H” Heather Jenkins playing her first game for the season, expectations were high for a good team performance.

Waverley jumped out to an eight-point lead by half time with the Lions failing to post a score. The backs again led by Kate Francis and Stacey Spiteri held the Waverley forwards and Kim “Robbo” Robbins prevented her opponent from getting a touch. The connection through the midfield was not working even with the wind assistance in the Third Quarter.

At the last break, the girls determined to ignore the uncontrollables and with a few changes switching Rachel “Chucky” O’Riordan and “H” forward proved to be a successful with some good linking play allowing Rosie Busuttil to score a timely goal against the wind.

The Lions did all the attacking in the last quarter inspired by the hard work of Kelly “Kelz” Baillie locking the ball forward from her outstanding game in a high half forward role.

With all the momentum in the final quarter the girls looked as though they might pull off the sought after win but were beaten by the time. It was clearly the best team effort for the season with the forwards really starting to understand their roles and the midfield creating space for good ball movement.

​Next up Darebin for a second time, however this time the girls are looking forward to the encounter, which will give a real measure of how well they have improved this season.
Comprehensive win against an undermanned Marcelin side, started well and despite some messy patches of play the final result was locked away by half time.

Building strong momentum into the last round before heading to finals is the focus.
​It was a big day for Paul Pitman and the boys wanted to get a result for him. It wasn’t necessarily about the scoreboard against a depleted Chirnside Park, it was about playing the way we ant to play.
 
The team has played together for a while now and really starting to gel. Yes, we were able to put 19 goals on the board, but the backline, which is a team within the team were able to hold the opposition scoreless. They challenged themselves and succeeded.
 
It was apt that Pauly (Tangles, Syd) was able to finish with 2 goals.

Round 8

A big game playing a top side.

We had some bad news before the game and lost two players before the start of the game.
​
The game was tough and fast and Parkdale capitalised on their opportunities early and we missed some shots.  

I asked the boys to put in a big last half effort with them all responding.

We locked the ball in and stopped their running game. With a big last quarter we had them by running and moving the ball. Unfortunately they got a score and we lost.

Two games remain and two wins are needed to make finals. We are good enough if we believe and follow our game plan.
​A finals like game feeling to the game as we squared the win loss total for this season against Parkdale.

Both sides hitting the ball hard early and the result in the 1st 1/4 against the breeze really set us up.

Second term with the wind and we stretched the lead that in the end was the winning margin.

The healthy rivalry built in a short time with the Parkdale boys looks like it will get to continue when finals arrive.

Hit the track this week to recover and set ourselves for Marcelin next up.
What a great way to celebrate Paul Pitmans milestone game.
 
A really gritty and hard fought win. The opposition were bigger and dominated overhead. Coburg were more desperate and had numbers at the contest in cold and slippery conditions.
 
After trailing by as many as 3 goals through the game, we held Box Hill goalless in the last quarter while we peppered the goals and made them extremely nervous.
 
John Haddad with ice water running through his veins slotted the winner from a set shot with less than 2 minutes to play. It was a matter of keeping our nerve and holding them up from there.
 
A fantastic team effort that keeps the season alive. If a couple results go our way, the f word could start getting thrown around. One week at a time though.
 
Well done buys.
Despite the threat of some nasty weather 20 players braved the trip down the highway to take on last year’s premiers. They were greeted by a heavy hail storm as they watched the previous game, but were able to play the whole match in sunshine on a very good surface.

Good team structure meant that Werribee, kicking with the strong breeze, were limited in scoring opportunities until they got a run in “Red” time in the first quarter.

That was their last real damage on the scoreboard with Jenny Bonney and Kate Francis in the backline turning many Werribee attacks into forward forays for the Lions. The second quarter saw Sabina Ahuja score from deep in the pocket. The midfield, bolstered by the return of Bec Brown controlled play with Werribee unable to add to their first quarter tally.

With Werribee having the breeze in the third quarter the Lions resisted attack after attack to limit them to only one behind for their efforts.

​The Lions continued to challenge the opposition for the remainder of the game playing it out with a strong resistance right to the end. The best whole team effort this season with even better to come. Go Lions.

Round 7

Game against Plenty Valley was a hard winters game.

We started ok and just kept with them till half time.

Inaccurate kicking for goal and field kicking no good they took control of our mistakes and scored.

It was a scrap from then on and we fought hard in muddy conditions but came away with a loss.

​Big big challenge next week and we need to be on from the start.
Away from home against Plenty Valley on a ground that was tough going after some poor weather through the week.

Really pleased with the work rate across all lines and we improved each quarter to come away with a strong win despite some average kicking at times.

​Looking forward to returning to our home ground as we continue to improve each performance and start to settle a side to take a tilt at some finals footy.
The 45's jumped out of the blocks and took control with 4 goals to nil in the first quarter.
Coburg were winners all over the ground, denying the ball around the middle, winning the ball back across half back, locking the ball in and scoring at will.
A real team effort and stands us in good stead for the final three rounds.
Returning to Coburg City oval conveyed no home ground advantage in the windy, cold and rainy conditions.

It was a matter survival losing three players to injury early in the game.

Opening against the wind the Coburg girls worked together to keep Mordialloc out. With the half back line of Kate Francis, Freya Tobin and Stacey Spiteri doing a lot of the heavy work.

The second quarter showed we had few options going forward and needed to rely on Rosie Busuttil to provide some movement, but we failed to score against the flooding of Mordialloc.

The third quarter was a repeat of the first with the backline repelling attack after attack and denying the opposition scoring opportunities.

The efforts of the first three quarters told on the players during the final quarter with Mordialloc running out on top by 20 points, leaving the elusive first win another fortnight away.