By Luke Mathews
Sunday afternoon’s game against Northern Bullants will be the first time Coburg has faced their neighbours in over 12 months with the clash set to shape the ladder position for both sides.
Last time they met
The two sides last met in round eight 2023 when Coburg narrowly went down to the Bullants by seven points. The two sides were evenly matched for nearly the whole day with Coburg taking a slender three point lead into the final change. In a seesawing final term the two sides went goal for goal in the final quarter before the Bullants came home with a rush in the final ten minutes to kick the last two goals to take the win by seven points.
Key players to watch
Joel Tudgeon’s first season in the red and blue continues to get better and better. The former Box Hill Hawk hasn’t missed a beat since changing clubs in the offseason and looks to be the runaway favourite come Jim Sullivan Medal night. Last week the midfielder racked up a career high 45 touches against Southport to go with 28 touches against the Kangaroos, 33 against the demons and 31 against the cats to cap of an impressive month for the ball magnet. Another best on ground performance against the Bullants would go a long way to helping the Lions come away with the four points.
Flynn Gentile is another one the keep an eye on at Piranha Park on Saturday. The Airport West product put in one of the best performances of the year three weeks ago against the demons when he had 43 touches and two goals. After a reasonably quiet past two weeks by his high standards, the vice-captain will be looking to get back to his best against the arch rivals and ensure his team comes away with the victory.
A clash 98 years in the making
Sunday afternoon’s game holds a significant part of VFL history with another chapter set to be written at Piranha Park this weekend. The VFL’s two standalone northern clubs have a history that dates back to the 7th of June 1926 when the two sides first faced each other at Preston City oval. On that day, the Lions came out on top by 43 points that kick started a famous rivalry. Since then, the Bullants have gone on to win 81 of the meetings with Coburg registering 75 wins to go with three draws between the two sides. Unfortuantely for the Lions, in recent times the Bullants have been two strong for Coburg winning their last seven encounters with their last win coming in 2015 when they won by two points. Sunday’s game looms as the club’s best opportunity to beat their arch rivals in recent times after their much improved recent form has troubled many sides across the competition.
