By Mathew Asciak
After a great win by the Development team in the 12pm fixture, the Seniors were unable to dethrone the St.Kevins side who led at every change and held off a late quarter fightback from the Lions.
The Development side showed no rust after their week off in round 2, securing a comprehensive 37-point win.
The score line may not show it, but it wasn’t all plain sailing for the Lions, who trailed by 5 points at the first break. Danni-Jane Umaki and Soma Griffin pulled off some great one on one efforts to curtail the Saints entry inside 50.
Up forward, it was Georgia Sampson who ran the show for the Lions, kicking five goals for the day and named best afield by the coaches. Helping create space and stretch the Saints defence was Sheridan Bennett, occupying the wide areas of the field and showing a willingness to run and carry with the ball, using the ball with purpose inside 50.
Natalie Todaro was influential in the middle of the ground, alongside Hayley Baber, constantly getting in and around the contest and looking to supply the forwards. Despite not getting on the scoresheet, Alana Wenban was great for the Lions, her strong defensive efforts earned her a spot amongst the best performers for the match.
The moment of the match would fall to debutant Bowen Hackett, who kicked her first goal for the Lions, which was very well celebrated her and the team.
The Seniors were unable to secure their 2nd win on the trot, going down by two goals to the Saints, who led at every change. The defence held strong for the home side, with some strong tackling pressure restricting the Coburg midfield and forwards ability to create an effective inside 50 entries.
After her 4-goal performance last week, key forward Jemma Laffey continued her strong start to the season, adding another two goals to her 2023 tally. There was wide spread of positional impact amongst those voted best afield, with midfielder Lauren Collis getting best afield honours, alongside skipper Amy Duguid. Defensive trio of Michelle Sliwinski, Dacia Abela and Cat O’Bryan were great for the Lions, with tall forward Ruby Taranto got reward for her goal and constant aerial presence.
At the 14th minute mark of the final term, O’Bryan kicked her first goal for the Lions, giving them a glimmer of hope in the final 5 minutes, but the deficit was ultimately too much.
Final scores:
Development:
Coburg: 1.2.(8) | 4.6.(30) | 6.7.(43) | 8.12. (60)
St.Kevins: 2.1.(13) | 3.2.(20) | 3.5.(23) | 3.5. (23)
Goals:
Sampson 5, Minchin, Kotas, Hackett
Best: G.Sampson, S.Bennett, N.Todaro, M.Kotas, A.Wenban, H.Baber
Seniors:
Coburg: 2.0.(12) | 3.0.(18) | 4.1.(25) | 5.3. (33)
St.Kevins: 3.1.(19) | 3.2.(20) | 5.3.(33) | 7.3. (45)
Goals:
Laffey 2, Taranto, Mangan, O’Bryan
Best: L.Collis, A.Duguid, C.O’Bryan, M.Sliwinski, R.Taranto, D.Abela
