By Mathew Asciak
Head coach Thomas Chitsos has made 4 changes for the Lions round 10 clash with Melbourne University this Saturday.
Midfield pair Chloe Perrett and Bree Unthank return for the Lions, with Unthank featuring for the first time since our round 5 encounter with the Collegians. Perrett returns to the fold in the Seniors after having a strong performance last week for the Development team in their big win.
Defender Laila Zayat regains her spot in the back six, while Ruby Taranto gets reward for her three-goal haul last week against Old Scotch.
The four omissions from the squad are Hayley Baber, Teah Stepan, Mia D’Agostino and Sophie Damon. They will all be unavailable this week for either team.
Formerly at West Preston in the Northern Football Netball League, Nicole Ghalioum will make her first appearance for Coburg. Defender Ella Menzies is also making her first appearance of 2023, as will Emma Chamberlain.
Rounding out the inclusions for the Development team are Jenna Smith and Bowen Hackett.
Unavailable for this weeks’ clash is Kristelle Vanderwolf and Taylan Merrick. While Taranto has been included in the Seniors.
Last time they met:
VAFA Premier Round 1, 2023. Melbourne University def Coburg: 5.4. (34) to 4.7. (31)
VAFA Premier Reserves Round 1, 2023. Melbourne University def by Coburg: 2.3. (15) to 5.8. (38)
In their opening match in the VAFA competition, Coburg travelled to Melbourne Uni. Despite having a 7-point quarter time lead, the Lions were unable to prevail, going down by a mere three points. Skipper Amy Duguid kicked the Lions first goal in the VAFA, which is only fitting given it was her first competitive game as captain. Mia D’Agostino kicked 2 majors, while Regina Said also hit the scoreboard.
Midfield trio Kayla Koropeckyj, Morgan McNally and Unthank were the standouts in the middle of the park for the Burgers’, while Dacia Abela and Julia McArdle had strong performances across half-back.
The Development side had no such trouble with their first outing, winning by 23 points and keeping the home side scoreless in the opening term. Three goals from spearhead Taranto helped propel the Lions to the landmark victory, Merrick and Georgia Sampson also recorded majors.
Match Preview:
Both Senior teams are coming off hard fought losses in their previous outings. Coburg unable to pull off a last quarter comeback against Old Scotch in Camberwell, while University fought hard against top of the ladder, Kew, leading at three quarter time, but were overrun in the final term, losing by 13 points.
In the reserves, the Lions won comfortably to the tune of 61 points against Old Scotch, despite being hampered by two late omissions which caused them to take the field with just 14 players. Taranto was a prominent figure up forward for the Lions, kicking three goals for the second time this season, increasing her season tally to 8 in 4 games in the Development team.
University was no match for a strong Kew side, going down by 34 points and only managing to register one major for the match through Kate Morrison.
Seniors:
IN: Zayat, Perrett, Unthank, Taranto
OUT: Baber, Stepan, D’Agostino, Damon
Development
IN: Hackett, Menzies, Ghalioum, Chamberlain, Jen Smith
OUT: Vanderwolf, Taranto, Merrick
Team Line-ups:
Seniors:
B 30 DACIA ABELA 12 AMY MITCHENER 4 LAILA ZAYAT
HB 10 AMY DUGUID 46 KIANA MINCHIN 36 MICHELLE SLIWINSKI
C 9 LAUREN COLLIS 45 CLAIRE CASHMAN 24 JULIA MCARDLE
HF 19 GEORGIA SAMPSON 6 REGINA SAID 23 SHERIDAN BENNETT
F 68 CHLOE PERRETT 3 BREE UNTHANK 29 STEPH FILBAY
R 39 TASH PHIPPS 65 TAYLA DINUCCIO 5 MORGAN MCNALLY
INT 33 TARA CHETCUTI 11 ISABELLA HAYES 18 ALANA WENBAN 22 RUBY TARANTO
EMG 38 ABIGAIL ADAMS 28 LISA HALFPENNY 14 MIKAYLA KOTAS
Development:
B 71 JEN SMITH 25 ELLA MENZIES
HB 47 NICOLE GHALIOUM 28 LISA HALFPENNY 35 SOMA GRIFFIN
C 48 CHLOE CATALANO 31 LILY PRIMERANO 44 EMMA CHAMBERLAIN
HF 32 JAZ SMITH 14 MIKAYLA KOTAS 21 EMILY BALABUROV
F 57 LOUISIA CAVANAGH 42 BOWEN HACKETT
R 56 MALAYA RODEZNO 38 ABI ADAMS 16 JACQUI BROMILOW
Match Details:
Round 10 | William Buck Premier Women’s | Premier Women’s Reserves
Coburg Lions vs Melbourne University
Piranha Park
Saturday 24th June, 11:40am (Reserves 9:40am)
*Coburg teams are subject to VFLW and Top Up player availability
#WeAreCoburg #LionMode
