VFL Match Report: Round 18 vs Coburg Lions

27/07/2026

A late surge wasn’t enough as we fell 14 points short to Coburg at Barry Plant Park on Sunday.

The game opened with a tight and contested battle with Coburg getting the first hit-out before Darcy Chirgwin (five tackles and 19 disposals) set the tone for our defensive pressure early with his trademark physicality.

After maintaining momentum for the early portion of the first quarter, we were able to capitalise on a 50-metre penalty, resulting in Noah Yze (two goals and 14 disposals) kicking our first goal of the day, putting Coburg’s backline under pressure early.

After our quick and fiery start, Coburg began to capitalise on dropped marks and loose ground balls, kicking four goals in 13-minutes, the most unanswered goals for either team on the day.

Despite the scoreboard pressure Coburg applied, our backline remained steady and composed through Owen Bater and Noah Sutherland’s immense defensive pressure and spoils.

Although we managed repeated entries inside forward 50, we were unable to find targets and capitalise.

Daniel Pinter (29 hit outs and 13 tackles) started his game off well with eight hit outs to Coburg’s four.

We finished the first quarter strongly with a brilliant passage of play starting with Mitch Ryan (seven intercepts) running off half back with a chip kick to Nathan Scollo who kicked the ball long to half forward where Andreas Stefanakis picked up the loose ball and found a target in Lachie Voss (three goals), who was able to cut the margin down to only 14 points heading into the first break.

The second term started with immense pressure in our back 50 as Coburg collected the first centre clearance and bombed it long inside 50, with their inaccuracy at goal helping us to reset and attack, bringing the ball out of our defensive zone.

Jet Peckett (five marks and one goal) started us off in the second term with an outstanding pack mark, seeing us clinch the margin back to nine points.

Not long after, Chirgwin was rewarded a free kick from his defensive pressure in our forward half and was able to convert for our fourth of the day, providing us with the momentum heading into the second half of the quarter.

Coburg were on a roll late, kicking three goals. Ben Hopkins (five intercepts) stood strong, taking two brilliant intercept marks and halting Coburg’s continuous re-entries, allowing us time to reset.

Going into the main break, Coburg led by 20 points, but we were well and truly up for the fight.

The third term started with us on the back foot as Coburg’s midfield began to dominate clearances and put our backline under pressure. Fortunately, we were able to hold Coburg to just one major in the third.

11 minutes into the third term, an end-to-end transition resulted in a second goal for Voss after he applied a brilliant tackle and received a well-earned free kick and converted a glorious goal right on the 50-metre line.

Against the flow late in the third term, we were again able to transition from our back half into our front half with Yze providing some magic and kicking a wonderful goal for his second of the day, bringing the three-quarter-time margin back to 15-points.

We started the last quarter with heavy intensity. Charlie Harrop provided a brilliant chase-down and smother inside our forward 50, helping to lock the ball in.

Despite our countless forward 50 entries and surging pressure, we were unable to find a target inside 50 as Coburg set up well behind the ball, which ultimately saw us concede a goal nine minutes into the last, extending Coburg’s lead to 21 points.

The last term brought with it a lot of back-and-forth play. Neither team was able to fully capitalise on their forward 50 entries and transition from their individual back half, creating a contested game and many stoppages.

Max Hoult kicked an important goal to keep us alive before Voss completed his hat-trick with a much-needed goal to get us within eight points, with the momentum slowly shifting our way.

A quick surge saw us kick our third of the term through Kyle Cooper, cutting the margin back to two points and giving us every opportunity with 12 minutes to go.

Nathan Philactides (22 disposals and five intercepts), Lachlan Riley (21 disposals) and William Johnson (21 disposals) fought hard all day, creating plenty of opportunities.

Scollo had an important spoil to halt Coburg’s surge to goal late in the game.

Our pressure remained throughout the whole game, evident with our 77 tackles to Coburg’s 56. However, the Lions’ inside 50 entries and accuracy in front of goal proved decisive, scoring 11 goals from their 56 entries inside forward 50 to our nine goals from 52 entries.

Ultimately, we were unable to continue our late surge and stop Coburg’s late entries, falling short by 14 points.

We look ahead to our last home game of the Smithy’s 2026 VFL Season as we return to Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval in a big day of footy against Williamstown, with the VFLW side kicking things off at 10:00am followed by the VFL at 2:05pm on Sunday, August 2.

Scores
Sandringham: 2.2, 4.4, 6.7, 9.10 (64)

Coburg Lions: 4.4, 7.6, 8.10, 11.12 (78)

Disposals: Philactides 22, Riley 21, Johnson 21, Hopkins 20

Goals: Voss 3, Yze 2, Hoult, Chirgwin, Peckett, Cooper

Visit the VFL website for full stats