Coburg gains first win under McRaeVFL site
By Bryce Jarvis
From the look of the dark ominous clouds that hovered above ABD Group stadium, it appeared from the outset that an old fashion slog out in the mud was going to be played out. The heavens failed to open however, and in the end a free flowing, hard fought match was easily slammed home by the Burgers, winners by 36 points.
The first quarter belonged solely to the Bullants, with Coburg only able to kick three majors, those coming from Pattison, Oakley-Nicholls & Raines. The Bullants virtually shut down Coburg's half forward line, with Nick Stevens dominating with early possessions.
Overall the Bullants had 13 shots on goal, and if not for poor kicking would have gone into the first break with a far bigger lead than fifteen points. Jarrod Bannister kicked his two goals for the game in the first , Stevens kicked the first goal of the game, with a brilliant snap at the two minute mark. Ellard was the other major scorer for the Bullants in the first.
It was like a completely new Coburg outfit in the second quarter, the hard nosed football that the Burgers are becoming notorious for was back. The burgers kicked five goals for the quarter, with several other chances going begging to go in 9 point leaders at the half-time break.
Jordan McMahon, Nick Liddle and Matthew White were explosive across the ground and their delivery set up the Tigers forwards on several occasions. Pattison added his second for the day, Coughlan, Clarke, Liddle and Carnell all contributed majors for the quarter.
The only shining lights for the Bullants in the second quarter, were big Cameron Cloke and Luke Morgan, who both contributed to the scoreboard. But in addition they also added some much needed heart to the Bullants outfit, which lacked cohesiveness and the spark they brought to the first quarter.
The third quarter was a tightly contested battle with the ball going back and forward like a yo-yo. Neither the Burgers or the Bullants were able to stamp their authority on the game, with the Tigers going in 16 points leaders into the last quarter. King, Pettifer and Carrick all kicked majors for the Burgers, with Hadlee & Yarran booting two vital goals for the Bullants. Carrick had a huge third, as did Adam Pattison.
The fourth quarter belonged entirely to the Burgers in particular Nick Carnell, who booted three magnificent captains goals to drive Coburg home by 36 points. Ellard, Tiller, Cloke and Scotland all stood up for the Bullants, but Coburg just had a stronger attack at the uncontested ball. Cleve Hughes played well throughout the day but owned the forward line in the last, booting two fantastic goals.
Overall a fantastic effort from the Tigers, who for now have stemmed the bleeding from a series of bad losses. The next few weeks however, will separate the contenders from the pretenders. Coburg's next three matches are away games and are against some quality opposition in Williamstown, Geelong and Casey, with that in mind it could well be a season-defining month for the Burgers.
http://www.sportingpulse.com/assoc_page.cgi?client=1-118-0-0-0&sID=60264&&news_task=DETAIL&articleID=9416518§ionID=60264
