Coburg faced equal ladder leaders Geelong on Sunday at Mantello Holden Oval. After a strong second half of the match last week against Casey, Coburg wanted to come out strong and continue with that form. Although they were overrun in the last term, Coburg certainly showed an immense amount of effort in a performance which perhaps warned the rest of the competition that they were still a threat for the remainder of the season.
The match started as a fairly open affair, with the feel of the game being very much end to end, providing some free flowing and attractive football for the impressive crowd that had showed up. Coburg had lost some run for the game through Matt Arnot being called up to the Richmond squad for his debut, and Matt Dea also missing. The return of Shane Tuck and a very solid start from Shane Petterd down back filled these holes however, and added to a 2 goal quarter from Luke McGuane Coburg managed to go in to the first change just 7 points down, and certainly showing signs of being able to match it with the more highly fancied Geelong.
The second quarter proved that Coburg had showed up to prove something to the competition, managing to overpower a Geelong midfield riddled with AFL seasoned players, and stopping the tall timber in Trent West and Nathan Vardy up front. Ricky Petterd lead a very well organized defensive half, rebounding effort after effort from Geelong with excellent pressure added to some precision passing. In the forward line it was Nick Maric who starred for the term, kicking 2 goals and showing his talents as an up and coming small forward. A.Saad showed some exciting signs and Robin Nahas had produced one of his better halves for the Club. Coburg ended up taking the lead in to half time, ahead by 5 points and sparking some excitement from the home crowd.
The second half began in a very similar fashion to the first, with both teams battling for the ascendancy but neither team managing to get the game played entirely on their terms. Tuck and Lonergan in particular continued to give Coburg their fair share of first use, with players like Nahas and Venditti providing clean hands and spread on the outside. Brett O'Hanlon continued to find his form providing a strong pair of hands in the forward half of the ground as well as a number of penetrating forward 50 entries and a goal. Petterd continued his fantastic marshaling role out of defence and Coburg maintained the lead going in to the final change, up by just 3 points.
When Geelong kicked the first goal within the first 50 seconds of the last quarter, signs were already showing that Coburg may have been running out of legs. A collision early in the last term which left Geelong defender Jackson Thurlow wondering where he was seemed to be the spark Geelong needed to get on top of Coburg and finally be able to play the game on their terms. Geelong midfielders Smedts, Bathie and defender Mitch Brown played a big role in the final quarter surge along with Walker up forward who ended the day with a bag of 5 goals. The last quarter dominance was a disappointing way for Coburg to end the day, with the final scores showing 14.12.95 to 16.19.115, but it was a performance in which players and fans alike could walk away from knowing that they had given their all, and proved to themselves that their best can match it with the best in the competition.
Coburg 14.12.95
Geelong 16.19.115
GOALS: McGuane 3, Mcbean, Ohanlon, Maric 2, Carnell, Clifton, Venditti, Thomas, Lonergan 1.
BEST: Petterd, Nahas, Tuck, McBean, O'Hanlon.
Coburg play Frankston this Saturday against Frankston away at Frankston.
2pm start.
Last Modified on 02/07/2013 15:18