Match Report Vs Sandringham
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The Burgers finished the home and away season in style this week by defeating top of the table Sandringham by 19 points on Saturday. After an even first half Coburg kicked away in the second booting ten goals to Sandringhams four. The win didn’t have any effect on the ladder with Sandy finishing on top, while Coburg finished in third spot with thirteen wins for the year. A fantastic effort considering the Burgers finished in eighth position last season. Coburg now play Geelong on Sunday in the 2nd Qualifying Final at Teac Oval, Port Melbourne.
The Burgers traveled down to Trevor Barker Beach Oval as the under dogs on Saturday in a game that was more of a yardstick to see how close Coburg are to the best side in the league. The result had no importance on shaping the ladder, as Sandy and Coburg were going to finish first and third respectively.
An inaccurate Sandringham took a three point lead at quarter time, after both sides kicked four first quarter goals. Sandy added another 5.6 during the second term, to Coburgs 4.4, again kicking inaccurately. Some credit should also go the Coburg defenders who pressured the Zebra forwards very well and forced them into making mistakes. Sandringhams gun full-forward Nick Saunter was solid up forward, but one of the main culprits to the Zebra’s inaccurate kicking as he finished with 3.6 from 10 attempts.
Daniel Connors made a welcome return to the Burgers after four games with Richmond in the past month, and was best on ground including two goals. Connors also added his second contender for mark of the year, after taking another screamer. Coburg hadn’t played badly but were lucky to be within thirteen points at the main change, as they had conceded eight more scoring shots.
The Burgers ran over the top of the Zebra’s in the second half, as they kicked five goals to two in both the third and fourth quarters. Sandringham had another shocking quarter in the last as their ten attempts on goal managed a measly 2.8.
Chris Hyde was a standout for the Burgers as he collected 28 possessions in the midfield. He was well supported from Paul Shelton and Daniel Connors as mentioned earlier, while Captain Travis Ronaldson was a standout in the ruck and gave his midfielders first use.
Patrick Bowden and Nat Caruso were also solid performers and both finished with three goals, while Andrew Krakouer provided some spark and kicked two goals. The Burgers face second place Geelong in week one of the finals on Sunday.
Coburg Tigers
4.4 8.6 13.11 18.13 (121)
Sandringham
4.7 9.13 11.16 13.24 (102)
Goal Kickers
N. Caruso 3, P. Bowden 3, D. Connors 2, M. White 2, C. Hyde 2, A. Krakouer 2, C. Howat, P. Shelton, C. Hughes, R. Trajkovski
Best Players
D. Connors, N. Caruso, T. Ronaldson, P. Shelton, C. Hyde, P. Bowden
Reserves
The reserves game started a similar way to the seniors with Sandy missing early opportunities, and although having four less scoring shots a very accurate Coburg were up by sixteen points at the main break. The Burgers then found their usual form kicking seven and six goals respectively in the next half to the Zebra’s four. Better players for Coburg were Glen Carrick and Matthew Vasilevski, whilst Cathal Corr and Jono Mullins were also great kicking eight goals between them. The win kept Coburg in top spot, a great achievement considering they only won six games in total for the 2006 season.
During 2007 the Coburg reserves averaged a mammoth ‘126 points for’ per game and finished with a huge percentage of 180. They now have a week off and will play the winner of ‘Port Melbourne and Werribee’ next week for the chance to go straight into the Grand Final.
Coburg Tigers
5.1 10.2 17.7 23.15 (153)
Sandringham
5.6 6.10 11.15 12.18 (90)
Goal Kickers
C. Corr 4, J. Mullins 4, J. De Sousa 3, J. Gazzo 3, C. Peterson 2, D. Rayson 2, R. Dagher, N. Liddle, W. Smith, G. Carrick, S. Foster
Best Players
G. Carrick, M. Vasilevski, C. Corr, J. Mullins, J. Keogh, N. Liddle
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