Flood says Coburg falls short in physical stakes
07 May 2005
Herald Sun
Rebecca Williams
COBURG Tigers coach David Flood is preparing his side for "combative football" against the Northern Bullants when VFL returns to Punt Road Oval today.
Flood said his young Tigers needed to learn to match the physical play of the league's more robust teams and that started today against Barry Mitchell's Bullants.
"When we have played the stronger sides, we have fallen short in the physical stakes," Flood said.
"We have to learn to match that and I feel we have started to do that in the last couple of weeks.
"I think Barry Mitchell and Denis Pagan play a strong brand of combative football. It's something they've done for a long time and it's worked and won finals for them.
"And it's an area in which both Richmond and the Coburg Tigers need to be stronger."
Coburg, which sits just outside the top eight with two wins from four matches, will have 11 Richmond-listed players in its line-up today.
Young forward Jay Schulz will make his return from an ankle injury he sustained on Anzac Day, which sidelined him last round.
"It will be good to have him back because his form against Box Hill was pretty good before he hurt his ankle," Flood said.
Flood also implored the young Richmond players to add some shine to their game if they wanted to make an impact in the AFL.
"They just need to put a bit more polish on their game to finish it off," he said.
"When they get to AFL level they need to have that extra polish.
"We want to try and replicate what the AFL side is doing."
Today's clash is one of two home games Coburg, Richmond's VFL affiliate, will play at Punt Rd this season. The club is hoping to attract supporters on their way to the Richmond-Carlton match.
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