By Jack Kovacic.
There were plenty of good patches of play from Coburg, but it was Sandringham who came out on top in their final practice game on Friday.
The focus will now shift to Coburg’s opening match of the season, where they will host Casey next Sunday afternoon at Piranha Park.
The Lions started well, with some key factors being their forward line pressure and run out of defence.
Sean Gregory (19 disposals, 14 marks) was strong in defence all day, with his intercept marking vital to the Lions being able to move the ball quickly on score from turnover.
The ball movement from the Lions was fast, with the handball chains out of defence a big feature and leading to multiple goals.
James Svarc (4 goals) was dangerous up forward, while Liam Hunt (26 disposals, 3 goals) also posed problems to the Zebras defence when he spent time up forward.
Speaking post-game, assistant coach Andrew ‘Sturg’ Sturgess was impressed with Hunt’s development.
“We talked over the off-season about adding another string to his bow,” he said.
“If we can get him to spend good chunks of the game forward, he’s going to be dangerous for us.”
With such a young group, consistency over four quarters is a big challenge, and with a plethora of AFL listed players on the ground, Sandringham took advantage peppering the scoreboard in the second and third quarter.
Coburg were able to lock the ball in its forward half for a lot of the last quarter, but inaccuracy in front of goal meant the margin was a bit more than it could’ve been.
Sturgess was also pleased with the performance of the newcomers to the club.
“We’ve had a high turnover, [and] the new guys have come in and found their feet quickly and easily at the level.”
Be sure to get down to Piranha Park for the season opener at 1pm next Sunday afternoon against Casey Demons!
Coburg: 3.3 3.4 6.7 11.12 (78)
Sandringham: 4.2 6.11 13.14 19.17 (131)
Goals: Svarc 4, Hunt 3, Kerbatieh, Exon, Lowson, Mellington.
Best: Hunt, Gregory, Dickson, Kerbatieh.
We Are Coburg. Are You? With round one just around the corner, it’s not too late to sign up as a Coburg member! For more information or to purchase your membership, head to the Coburg FC Online Store or call (03) 9354 8228.
