By Mathew Asciak
The Senior team secured a nail biting 1-poiint victory at Fitzroy on Saturday afternoon, avenging their round 4 defeat at Piranha Park.
In blustery conditions at Brunswick Street Oval, both sides found scoring difficult, with both teams unable to maximise their forward 50 entries throughout, with the Lions registering only one goal for the game along their eleven minor scores.
Fitzroy had the better run of the green in the first half, controlling the ball better in the difficult conditions and were able to take some strong marks which allowed them to transition the ball more effectively.
The Lions battled hard, led by the skipper Amy Duguid, were remained a constant physical and verbal presence, urging the Lions on as they continued to search for their opening goal, which would come in the 3rd term through Georgia Sampson.
Stephanie Filbay continued her strong vein of form, taking a strong contested mark, but was unable to get the major score as she kicked into a strong breeze which took the ball right of the post.
Kiana Minchin had a great performance down back for the Lions which was rewarded with a mention in Coburg’s best 6 for the match. Sophie Damon also featured in the best for the first time this season.
As the fourth quarter entered the final two minutes, the Lions had dominated the possession metric, seemingly having the match played exclusively in their forward half for 18 minutes. As the seconds ticked over, Fitzroy launched one final attack in the final 30 seconds with a pair of important marks on the interchange side wing and then put a dangerous kick inside 50, which was expertly intercepted by Damon who took a strong mark.
The final siren blew short after as the Lions came away with the slimmest of victories.
Our Development team secured their 4th with on the trot with a 25-point victory. The victory was much tougher to come by this time round, with Fitzroy looking to make amends for their big loss in the reverse fixture in round 4, applying constant defensive pressure in the opening term.
Coburg broke the deadlock in the fourth minute through Jazmine Smith, kicking the only goal for the term which gave Coburg a 9-point quarter time lead.
Goals were hard to come by in the windy conditions, but Mia D’Agostino popped up in space to take an uncontested mark from close range, kicking the Lions second of the day. Fitzroy hit back soon after, but the Lions maintained a 10-point lead at the main break.
As the premiership quarter got underway, the Lions looked to create some breaking space as Jazmine Smith kicked her second goal of the day, followed by majors from Ruby Taranto and Annalise Vine, creating a 28-point buffer for the final break.
Fitzroy threw everything at Coburg in the final term and had the balance of play in their favour for majority of the final term. Lions’ defender Jenna Smith was superb throughout, particularly in the final term when the Lions were on the back foot. The home side kicked the only goal of the final term but were unable to create enough opportunities to cut into the three-quarter time margin, going down by 25 points.
Final Score:
Development:
Fitzroy: 1.0. (6) | 1.0. (6) | 1.0. (6) | 2.1. (13)
Coburg Lions: 1.3. (9) | 2.4. (16) | 5.7. (37) | 5.8. (38)
Goals: Jaz. Smith 2, D’Agostino, Taranto, Vine
Best: R.Taranto, M.Kotas, Jen.Smith, N.Todaro, M.D’Agostino, A.Vine
Seniors:
Fitzroy: 1.2. (8) | 1.2. (8) | 2.4 (16) | 2.4. (16)
Coburg Lions: 0.1. (1) | 0.3. (3) | 1.6. (12) | 1.11. (17)
Goals: Sampson
Best: K.Minchin, L.Collis, A.Duguid, S.Filbay, S.Damon, C.Cashman
