By Connor Burns
Premier Women’s Division: Coburg Lions v Kew at Victoria Park in Kew, 27th of July @11:40am
The Coburg Women’s senior side face another imposing task this weekend, taking of the 3rd placed Kew at Victoria Park in Kew. The girls are coming off a 33-point loss at the hands of a strong Old Scotch side, in a game that they built into throughout the contest. After being jumped out of the gates, a relatively even second half followed.
The Kew side are coming off a solid 28-point win against Old Yarra Cobras last week and will look to continue their form this Saturday. For the Lionesses, co-captains Claire Cashman and Amy Duguid will be important yet again and were impressive in the loss last week. Jemma Laffey and Lisa Halfpenny has proven to be reliable goalkicking sources so far this season and will look to impact the scoreboard again come the weekend.
The opposition have some impressive players that will need to be stopped to give the Lions any chance. Amelia Dawborn, Sarah Egan and Dakota Villiva have frequently featured in the best players throughout the season, while Jade Hillas, Melissa Maizels, Grace Osborne (Collingwood), and Ashlea Melnikas (Essendon) have returned from the VFLW competition in recent times to strengthen the side.
Coburg coach Ryan Wandel says the side must penetrate Kew’s impressive defence if they are to put them under pressure this Saturday. Surging the ball and a willingness to embrace the contest among the best ways of doing so.
“Kew are a strong side defensively, their shape behind the ball and defensive layers are always sound. To get the game on our terms, we need to clear the first defensive layer through embracing chaos and getting our hands dirty,” he said.
With the recent returns of some high-level players for the opposition, the Lions will look to shut down some of those players influences while also playing to their offensive strengths with run and flare.
“It has definitely come into our plans for this week (tagging/shutting down opponents). We will be looking to shut down one of those players, but we also know we can’t get too focused on it. We can’t be too defensively minded, as our main strength is our offense, we need to force those returning players to work hard,” he said.
Wandel is looking forward to gaining a few players back this week and is excited to see the impact that they can have.
“We’ve also got a few players returning, so it will be interesting to see how they play it as well,” he said.
“We’ve been working hard on embracing our family value and building momentum to get through each week in a positive frame of mind.”
As mentioned, the Burgers will gain some important inclusions with Adela Michelson, Dallas Rowland coming into the side. Ella Tyson is also in after playing VFLW for Williamstown most of the season, in what will be a big boost to the side.
Making way from the side that lost to Old Scotch last week are Lisa Halfpenny, Tara Chetcuci and Ella Menzies.
Last time they met: Round 6 at RMIT University Bundoora
Kew: 9.7 (61) def Coburg Lions 3.1 (19)
Kew
Goalkickers: A. Dawborn 2, A. Fitridge 2, M. Harding, L. Mayne, R. McDonough,
L. Stevens, D. Villiva
Best Players: D. Villiva, R. Toose, I. Harding, L. Barr, R. McDonough, A. Dawborn
Coburg
Goalkickers: K. Minchin 2, J. Laffey
Best Players: K. Minchin, G. Sampson, A. Michelson, S. Jolly, J. Laffey, S. Bennett
Get down to Victoria Park in Kew on Saturday for a 11:40am start to support the girls as the look to cause an upset victory.
