By Mathew Asciak
Prolific midfielder Lilly Primerano has earned her first Senior call up for the 2023 VAFA season, making her 2nd senior appearance for the Lions.
Primerano has been instrumental to the success of the Development team in their 2023 campaign, as they currently sit 2nd on the ladder, just 4 points adrift of Kew.
She has appeared in Coburg’s best on 5 occasions in her 10 matches, with a great stat line in their round 10 win against Melbourne University, collecting 33 disposals, 8 tackles and 7 clearances.
The Development team continued their win streak against St. Kevins, extending their run to 4 wins without a defeat. Their last defeat was against this week’s opponents in round 8 where the Magpies prevailed by 8 points away from home.
Despite their inaccurate kicking, Coburg were dominant against SKOB in their last outing, creating 18 scoring shots to 1. Development team skipper Natalie Todaro led from the front, collecting 21 touches and 4 clearances.
Defensive pair Michelle Sliwinski and Lauren Suleiman return to the back six, while Sophie Damon returns to give the Lions another tall option around the ground. Attacking trio of Regina Said, Bree Unthank and Chloe Perrett will make way and will feature in the development team.
The final omission for the Seniors this week is Tayla Dinuccio who will be unavailable for selection.
Key defender Lisa Halfpenny is unavailable for the Development team this Saturday, as is key forward Mikayla Kotas. The midfield group will be buoyed by the return of Taylan Merrick, Mia D’Agostino and Sally Norman, while Jazmine Smith returns to the forward set-up.
Julia McArdle and Ruby Taranto kicked the Lions two majors,with Taranto creating multiple opportunities throughout, but was only able to register 5 minor scores to go with her goal.
For the Seniors it was a much tougher day at the office, going down by 44 points. Cat O’Bryan had a solid performance running through the midfield group and giving Natasha Phipps a chop out in the ruck, winning 18 hit-outs to go with 19 disposals and a team high 10 clearances.
Dinuccio and Alana Wenban were ferocious in the contest, leading the squad with 9 tackles.
Seniors:
IN: Lilly Primerano, Sophie Damon, Michelle Sliwinski, Lauren Suleiman
OUT: Regina Said, Chloe Perrett, Bree Unthank, Tayla Dinuccio
Development
IN: Taylan Merrick, Regina Said, Mia D’Agostino, Sally Norman, Jazmine Smith
OUT: Lilly Primerano, Lisa Halfpenny, Mikayla Kotas
Team Line-ups:
Seniors:
B 30 DACIA ABELA 12 AMY MITCHENER 4 LAILA ZAYAT
HB 10 AMY DUGUID 55 DANICA PEDERSEN 46 KIANA MINCHIN
C 9 LAUREN COLLIS 18 ALANA WENBAN 23 SHERIDAN BENNETT
HF 45 CLAIRE CASHMAN 19 GEORGIA SAMPSON 49 SOPHIE DAMON
F 29 STEPH FILBAY 39 TASH PHIPPS 2 TEAGAN BRETT
R 70 CAT O’BRYAN 53 LAUREN SULEIMAN 67 TEAH STEPAN
INT 38 ABI ADAMS 31 LILLY PRIMERANO 36 MICHELLE SLIWINSKI 11 ISABELLA HAYES
EMG 33 TARA CHETCUTI 24 JULIA MCARDLE 15 MIA D’AGOSTINO
Development:
B 35 SOMA GRIFFIN 71 JEN SMITH 33 TARA CHECUTI
HB 68 CHLOE PERRETT 40 SARAH PIGGOTT 59 SARAH JOLLY
C 25 ELLA MENZIES – SALLY NORMAN 24 JULIA MCARDLE
HF 66 ANNALISE VINE 15 MIA D’AGOSTINO 1 HAYLEY BABER
F 32 JAZ SMITH 6 REGINA SAID 21 EMILY BALABUROV
R 3 BREE UNTHANK 13 NAT TODARO 16 JACQUI BROMILOW
INT 48 CHLOE CATALANO 34 TAYLAN MERRICK
Match Details:
Round 14 | William Buck Premier Women’s | Premier Women’s Reserves
West Brunswick AFC vs Coburg Lions
McAlister Oval
Saturday 29th July, 2pm (Reserves 11:40am)
*Coburg teams are subject to VFLW and Top Up player availability
#WeAreCoburg #LionMode
