By Mathew Asciak
Looking to make amends for the narrow loss against Fitzroy last Saturday, head coach Thomas Chitsos has made 4 changes for the away clash versus current league leaders, Collegians.
After being rested for our round 4 clash, experienced defender Cat O’Bryan reassumes her spot in the back six. Also re-joining the defensive setup is Lauren Suleiman, who was unavailable last week.
Looking to continue her goal kicking form this week is Jemma Laffey, who returns to the fold after recovering from illness. After a strong performance which included two goals against Fitzroy, Stephanie Filbay has been rewarded with Senior selection.
The omissions to the defensive reshuffle are Phoebe Chisholm and Sophie Damon who will miss due to VFLW duties at Williamstown.
Michelle Sliwinski is unavailable for selection and Hayley Baber has been omitted but will feature in the Development team. Tara Chetcuti, Chloe Perrett and Kiana Minchin are named as emergencies.
Two omissions from the Development team that won last Saturday, with Filbay being elevated to the Seniors and midfielder Taylan Merrick is unavailable for the trip to Harry Trott Oval. Chloe Catalano slots back into the squad after missing last week, while Louisa Cavanagh is also back in the squad.
Match Preview:
The Senior team currently sit in 7th place on the VAFA Premier ladder after suffering two consecutive defeats. Their task to avoid three defeats on the bounce will be a difficult one, as they travel to Harry Trott Oval to face ladder leaders, Collegians.
Laila Zayat (12 disposals, 5 marks) seemed to handle the wet and windy conditions the best, while Kayla Koropeckyj and Isabella Hayes topped the Lions disposal numbers, both collecting 16 apiece.
Despite the loss, they should be buoyed by the fact they won many of the important stats on the day. The Lions had 19 inside 50’s to Fitzroy’s 13, won the tackle count 67-61 and the clearance count 19-13 in favour of the Burgers.
This week’s opponents secured a 22-point away win at McAlister Oval against West Brunswick AFC. Leading at every change, the Collegians kept the Magpies goal less after the first change. Key forward Georgia Harris and current goalkicking leader added another two goals to her season tally and should pose a strong threat to the Lions back six come Saturday.
On the Development team side, they will look to get their 4th straight win, easily accounting for a disappointing Fitzroy outfit. The match was exclusively played in the Coburg forward half, as indicated by the lopsided inside 50 count which read 47-7 in favour of Coburg come games end.
Kiana Minchin (5 goals) had her best performance of the season thus far, getting involved in majority of Coburg attacking passages throughout, while Chloe Perrett exhibited her superior pace and work rate on the wing for the Burgers, an asset that Fitzroy were unable to match.
Collegians reserves had a much tougher round 4 encounter, overcoming the Magpies by just 7-points. They would be happy with their first half performance, keeping the opposition scoreless, but remained scoreless themselves in the final term, making an interesting final term. Currently sitting 5th, they have two wins on the season and would very much like to keep within touching distance with the top 4.
Development:
IN: Baber, Catalano, Cavanagh
OUT: Filbay, Merrick (unavailable)
Seniors:
IN: O’Bryan, Suleiman, Laffey, Filbay
OUT: Baber (omitted), Sliwinski (unavailable), Chisholm (VFLW), Damon (VFLW)
Team Line-ups:
Seniors
B 30 ABELA 39 PHIPPS 12 MITCHENER
HB 4 ZAYAT 70 O’BRYAN 53 SULEIMAN
C 10 DUGUID 5 MCNALLY 23 BENNETT
HF 6 SAID 58 MANGAN 9 COLLIS
F 67 STEPAN 22 TARANTO 27 LAFFEY
R 3 UNTHANK 11 HAYES 65 DINUCCIO
INT 38 ADAMS 41 KOROPECKYJ 29 FILBAY 24 MCARDLE
EMG 33 CHECUTI 68 PERRETT 46 MINCHIN
Development
B 33 CHETCUTI 7 UMAKI 35 GRIFFIN
HB 28 HALFPENNY 71 JEN SMITH 40 PIGGOT
C 48 CATALANO 13 TODARO 68 PERRETT
HF 19 SAMPSON 15 D’AGOSTINO 1 BABER
F 14 KOTAS 46 MINCHIN 21 BALABUROV
R 56 RODEZNO 16 BROMILOW 18 WENBAN
INT 32 JAZ SMITH 31 PRIMERANO 37 CAVANAGH 42 HACKETT
Match details:
Round 5 | Williams Buck Premier Women’s | Premier Women’s Reserves
Collegians vs Coburg Lions
Harry Trott Oval
Saturday 13th May 4:45pm (Reserves 2pm)
*Coburg teams are subject to VFLW and Top up player availability.
#WeAreCoburg #LionMode
