BY JACK KOVACIC.
Coburg will be eager to bounce back from last weeks loss when it travels to Footscray on Saturday afternoon to take on the Bulldogs.
The Lions were outplayed for the most part last week against an experienced Casey outfit, but after a good week on the track will be ready to go.
Ryan Exon was named Lion of the Round after his standout performance in defence, and his versatility has been shown this week, named in the forward pocket.
Both Nick Mellington and Liam Hunt also performed strongly in the season opener, so getting their hands on the ball will be vital to Coburg’s chances.
The biggest positive out of last week though had to be the experience gained by the nine players who made their debuts. The boys will be all better for the run and will continue to develop and grow as senior VFL players week by week.
One of the most experienced Lions, captain Tom Goodwin, will be in an enthralling battle in the ruck all day. He comes up against Tom Campbell who performed well last week.
Bulldogs forwards Patrick Lipinski and Angus Monfries kicked a combined seven goals last week, and will have Tom Boyd and Josh Schache floating around inside the forward 50 on Saturday. Coburg defenders Sean Gregory, Lochie Dickson and James Belo to name a few will need to be on their games all day, but will be up for the challenge. All have shown good signs throughout the pre-season and opening game.
With such a young team on the park, Coburg should have Footscray covered in terms of pace so expect lots of quick ball movement from the Lions. If Coburg can intercept in defence, with the speed and running power of the team, they should be able to keep Footscray’s hands full.
The match kicks off at 12pm on Saturday afternoon at Whitten Oval.
Admission for Coburg FC members is $5, and while there is limited parking available at Whitten Oval, there is parking in the surrounding streets. Public transport information can be found here
Coburg
B: 17 L Dickson 10. S Gregory 28. C Byrne
HB: 2. J Corigliano 7. J Belo 9. N Blair
C: 3. H Kerbatieh 1. B Allan 32. B Cannolo
HF: 42. M Lentini 25. A Tilley 18. S Lowson
F: 5. R Exon 27. J Svarc 37. J Murphy
R: 29. T Goodwin 26. L Hunt 8. N Mellington
I/C: 16. J Fox 15. J. Iacobaccio 36. J Guthrie
4. T Wallis 13. T Condon 39. J Page
43. H Nolan 33. J Weightman
23P 44. M Mitchell-Russell
Footscray
B: 37. R Smith 18. F Roberts 36. B Lynch
HB: 30. F Greene 2. L Young 54. R William
C: 27. P Lipinski 58. M Goodyear 28. C Porter
HF: 40. N Mullenger-Mchugh 17. T Boyd 50. J Prudden
F: 13. J Schache 66. A Monfries 23. J Roughead
R: 15. T Campbell 19. L Webb 60. A Tashevski-Beckwith
I/C: 55. A Greenwood 61. L Nash 64. A Bruhn
67. J Wallis 56. W Hayes 51. L Dalgleish
53. L Sullivan 68. D Symeopoulous
23P: 65. N Hamad
