By Craig Dooley.
The Lions VFL team played their final practice match against the reigning VFL premiers Casey Demons at Casey Fields in Melbourne’s Southeast on Friday evening. Senior Coach Jamie Cassidy McNamara made several changes to the side that played Port Melbourne last week with Nathan Boucher and Ingo Dammersmith coming into the squad and Jackson Bowne, Jono Marsh, Ben Reddick, Trent Warren, Josh Watson all omitted.
Quarter 1
After Captain Jesse Corigliano won the toss, the play moved up and down the ground in the early minutes, before repeat inside 50’s for the Demons resulted in the first goal of the match.
A fantastic piece of ball movement was started by Luke Nelson and his subsequent kick found Daniel Owen who then kicked to Sam Mason who marked on a powerful lead resulting in the first Lions scoring opportunity of the game. Mason’s kick went across goal with the wind and out of bounds on the full.
Nic Quigg who had a fair bit of the ball early, went down injured for an extended period at the 15min mark and required medical attention. A free kick for a dangerous tackle was handed off to Lachlan Walker who hit a leading Josh D’Intinosante who marked strongly out in front. D’Intinosante pulled the ball to the left and a behind was the Lions first score.
Soon after, Max Kennedy kicked high and across goal from a ground ball pickup and found Sam Mason who marked near the behind post. Mason kicked truly, shaping the ball from a tight angle to record the Lions first goal.
After a holding the ball free kick following a strong tackle by Luke Nelson, the Lions engineered a superb chain of play. Nelson hit up McGlashan who passed to Jepson who then subsequently found Podhajski who took a shot at goal, however the kick was wayward resulting in a behind. Clarke also had a long range shot after stoppage resulting in another behind.
The Demons led by 9 points at the first break in play. Reigning Jim Sullivan medallist, Jesse Corigliano had plenty of ball both incepting in defence and sparking off attacking forays further up the ground.
Quarter 2
Braedyn Gillard was strong around the ball in the opening phases of the quarter where the play repeatedly moved inside the Lions attacking 50m, however several kick turnovers going inside 50m and solid Demons defence thwarted Lions scoring.
The first Lions scoring opportunity of the quarter came from a Braedyn Gillard kick inside 50m to Alex Lukic who marked strongly above his head. Lukic went back for the set shot, 30m out on a 45deg angle, but was wayward hitting the post.
Captain Jesse Corigliano fired a low penetrating kick to Kyle Weightman who played on quickly resulting in the ball going to ground inside 50m where a subsequent Braedyn Gillard kick was tapped down by Luke Nelson to Sam Mason who snapped under pressure for the Lions second goal.
Soon after, Max Kennedy kicked towards Aaron Clarke who took a strong contested mark 30m out in front. Clarke went back for the set shot but the ball drifted on the wind and hit the post in another missed scoring opportunity.
A missed handball target by the Demons defence was picked up by Daniel Owen, who kicked quickly to Josh D’Intinosante who then handballed back to Owen who had trailed his kick and Owen snapped truly for the Lions third goal.
Several behinds followed as the Lions maintained the pressure in attack but were unable to convert. The Demons kicked several goals following this and when the siren went to signal half time the Casey lead was 19 points.
Quarter 3
A fast start to the quarter for the Burgers, with a Hugo McGlashan clearance from the opening bounce. McGlashan showed quick hands under pressure to find Tom Jepson who kicked immediately forward in the Max Kennedy direction. The ball went to ground, and Flynn Gentile hit the loose ball at pace, sweeping it up and hand passing in the same motion to Max Kennedy who had remained alive in the play. Kennedy quickly hand-passed to Josh D’Intinosante who kicked under pressure from multiple Demons defenders and the ball sailed through for the Lions first goal of the quarter.
Several Coburg scoring opportunities followed this, however all resulted in Lions behinds. In the 9th minute, Braedyn Gillard kicked from the centre circle and found Aaron Clarke on the lead who was unable to mark, however Gillard was pushed in the back resulting in a free kick downfield to the Lions 35m out directly in front. Clarke kicked a booming drop punt to score the Lions fifth goal of the match.
An enterprising passage of ball movement in the 16th minute started after a holding the ball free kick. Lachlan Walker went to Luke Nelson who kicked onto Will Bella who hit up an ever-dangerous leading Aaron Clarke who marked 35m out on a 45deg angle. Clarke pulled the kick to the left and ended up with a minor score.
In the 20th minute, a high tackle on Josh D’Intinosante resulted in a free kick 40m out right in front. D’Intinosante kicked truly, resulting in the Lions sixth goal.
From the next centre bounce Max Kennedy won the clearance, quickly hand balling off to Flynn Gentile who went quickly inside 50m. The resulting bouncing ball was cleared out towards the 50m arc by the Demons; however, Lachlan Walker was able to win a 1 on 1 contest and kick to a leading Aaron Clarke who marked 20m out from goal on a slight angle. Clarke took the set shot but sprayed the ball right for his 4th behind of the match.
The siren went to signal three quarter time with the Lions trailing by only 3 points after winning the quarter.
Quarter 4
The final term started with some favourable field position as the Lions searched for a goal to take the lead, however it was the Demons who scored the first goal of the final term in the 3rd minute to extend their lead.
In the 7th minute, a long passage of patient ball movement resulted from the Lions taking the right options and finding a series of open targets. Eventually a Mitch Podhajski kick down the interchange wing found Jesse Corigliano who kicked quickly inside 50m where Kyle Weightman marked on the 50m arc. Weightman played on evading three Demons defenders, snapping on the run for the seventh Lions goal that brought appreciative cheers from the Burger fans.
Sustained pressure inside attacking 50m followed, but the Lions were unable to convert, scoring several behinds to take the lead for the first time in the 16th minute. The Demons kicked a goal in the 18th minute to retake the lead. The Lions were unable to convert any further opportunities and the Demons won the game by 8 points.
Whilst the Lions would be rueing the number of behinds they scored, Senior Coach Jamie Cassidy McNamara and his team would be well pleased with the improved showing this week. Several opportunities were addressed from last week, in particular enhanced field kick execution and more intent and purpose in attack.
Score breakdown
Coburg: Q1: 1.3 (9) | Q2: 3.7 (25) | Q3: 6.12 (48) | Q4: 7.17 (59)
Casey: Q1: 3.0 (18) | Q2: 7.2 (44) | Q3: 8.3 (51) | Q4: 10.7 (67)
Goalkickers: Mason x2, D’Intinosante x2, Owen, Clarke, Weightman
The Coburg 2023 VFL Season Launch will be held on Saturday 18th March in the Parkview Function Room at 6.30pm. Secure your tickets via this link: https://www.eventbrite.com.au/e/2023-coburg-fc-vfl-season-launch-tickets-531350994127
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