5 must see VFL games during the first 2 months of the season

By Craig Dooley, Coburg FC Media Team.

Following this week’s release of the 2023 VFL fixture, we preview 5 must watch games for Burger fans during the opening months of the season.  During the first 14 rounds, Coburg play 9 times on Saturday, 3 times on Sunday, and have 2 byes which provides the Lions faithful with plenty of traditional Saturday footy.

In further good news, when in Melbourne, we never leave the metropolitan area which maximises opportunities for Coburg supporters to attend games. The VFL men’s team also has 3 practice games prior to Round 1, starting on Saturday 25^th February with a hitout against local rivals the Northern Bullants at RMIT Bundoora at 11am.

Round 1 Collingwood – Saturday 25^th March, 11.05am, Victoria Park

Lions VFL men’s footy returns with a first up away game at the Magpies traditional home, Victoria Park. There will be many “firsts” on the day with Jamie Cassidy- McNamara coaching his game for the club, Jesse Corigliano leading the team out as Captain and there’s sure to be many debutants for the club too. New Senior Coach Jamie Cassidy McNamara’s first game at the helm against his old alma mater in the Pies whom he worked for in many roles with both their AFL and VFL sides prior to coaching Old Trinity Grammarians’ Amateur Football Club in the VAFA Premier A competition in 2022.

Round 2 Richmond – Saturday 1^st April, 2.05pm, Piranha Park

The first home game of the season sees the Lions take on ex-alignment partner Richmond. This will be the first opportunity for the Lions faithful to fill the terraces and welcome Lions footy back to Piranha Park in 2023. For many of the Lions supporters, there is recent history with Richmond given our relationship as the Tigers VFL aligned side from 2001 to 2013. Keep an eye out for upcoming announcements via the clubs’ socials for details regarding the first pregame function and make a day out of it and support the club at the same time.

Last year in front of a large home crowd, a gallant Lions started strong against a loaded AFL listed Tigers team, however, were unable to hold with their opponent for the second half, going down 7.10 52 to 15.14 104. On that day, Flynn Gentile and Lachlan Walker led the way for the Lions with 25 disposals each. Many supporters at the ground and those watching on the Channel 7 live telecast will remember 2023 Vice-Captain Mitch Podhajski taking a high-flying hanger that brought the large contingent of Burger fans to their feet.

Round 5 Box Hill Hawks – Saturday 22^nd April, 1.05pm, Box Hill City Oval

Round 5 sees the return of the traditional Anzac weekend clash between Coburg and Box Hill. We hope to see a large contingent of ‘burger fans make their way to Box Hill City Oval to support the Lions and also to pay their respects during the traditional pregame ANZAC ceremony.

Last time we played the Hawks at Piranha Park in Round 5 2022, the Lions led for 3½ quarters, but fell away late in the fourth quarter to end up going down 6.7 43 to 8.19 67. In a game where the Hawks had an avalanche of missed scoring shots, Jhye Baddeley- Kelly had 24 possessions.

Round 6 Geelong – Sunday 30^th April, 12.00pm, Piranha Park

Round 6 sees the Lions host the Cats at Piranha Park in a game that will be broadcast live on Channel 7. Last time we played the Cats, the Lions travelled all the way to Eureka Stadium in Ballarat and on a cold and extremely windy day came away with an emphatic victory over the eventual AFL premiers VFL side 12.11 83 to 5.9 39. Now retired Coburg champion Peter McEvoy was best on ground playing the classic
swingman role staying with the wind in each quarter ending up with 25 disposals including 17 marks and 2 goals. 2023 Vice-Captain Nathan Boucher racked up 30 disposals ably supported by Mitch Podhajski in his 50th VFL game (29 disposals), Braedyn Gillard (28 disposals) and Lachlan Walker (24 disposals). Ben Reddick led the scoring bagging 4 majors.

Round 8 Northern Bullants – Sat 13^th May, 2.05pm, Piranha Park

This is the game many of the Lions faithful will have circled on their calendar when the fixture was released last week. After a hiatus in 2022 where the teams did not play each other, in Round 8 we once again pick up our biggest rivalry in the 158th edition of the Battle of Bell Street. The Lions will be looking to reclaim bragging rights over our nearest neighbour after an epic game at Piranha Park in 2021 where the Bullants scored a point after scores were tied approaching the 25 th minute of the final quarter to secure a heart stopping one-point victory 12.10 82 to 12.11 83. On the day Braedyn Gillard collected 22 disposals in a match that saw the Lions wearing their Sir Doug Nicholls Round indigenous jerseys.

To ensure you don’t miss any of the Lions VFL action this season, make sure that you activate #LionMode and become a member of the club in 2023. Please head to www.coburgfc.com.au/membership/ and join the hunt today!