VFL Practice Match Report: Zebras face the Lions in a challenging hit-out

02/03/2026

Zebras defeated by the Lions at the Standalone Carnival.

A gritty practice match at the Standalone Carnival in Craigieburn on Saturday saw the Sandringham Zebras concede 40 points against the Coburg Lions.

In our second hit-out, a combination of familiar faces and new players displayed promise with some stand-out highlights across the board.

We got the ball rolling in the first term as Andrew Mathieson kicked the first. Coburg quickly replied with one, provoking our backline to hold strong with Liam Purcell’s defensive spoils and Owen Bater’s intercept marks and second efforts. The defensive half looked clean with our transition out, working together in a cohesive fashion.

Flynn Gregor’s ability to chase and tackle impacted the momentum up the ground, resulting in a goal from Leon Alao putting us in front by seven. The even contest saw us end the first quarter with a two-point lead.

The second quarter began with great aerial contests from Hamish Murphy and overall reliability from Mitchell Ryan down back. The Lions caught us off guard by kicking five throughout the term. However, Adrian Cole’s composed marking and kicking helped settle the Zebs, following his incredible performance last week against the Bulldogs. In the ruck, Daniel Pinter’s second and third efforts were a highlight, whether it be tackling, smothering or getting the ball to ground.

Blake Watson’s work rate at every contest was vital in energising the ball and Brodie Atkins’ tackling pressure was huge in the midfield. Atkins also set up Jess Gedi for our third with his notable presence around the ground.

We switched gears in the third as Gedi slotted another thanks to Alao’s precise kicking. Mathieson and Pinter both laid powerful tackles to keep the Lions under pressure. Jack Ferraro and Lachlan Voss’ intercept marks broke Coburg’s momentum, resulting in a high scoring quarter for the Zebs. The three goals included trio: Gedi, Trent Marotta and Gregor who impressed in the yellow, black and blue. This reduced the gap to 10 once the siren sounded to end the third term (53 - 43).

As the fourth rolled in, Coburg quickly added to their tally as we lost some composure. Willis Reidy’s run out of the midfield, Tom O’Rourke’s tackles and Bater’s intercepts were not enough to keep the Lions at bay.

A promising third quarter reflected what we are capable of in 2026 but was unfortunately not quite enough to hold on to the final siren. Nevertheless, Development Coach Stuart Dempster was optimistic with some Zebs having their first run including: Keanu Nadji, Nathan Scollo and Ben Hopkins. We are excited to see what Sandringham can bring against Frankston for our last hit-out before Round 1 against Port Melbourne!

Match summary

COBURG                               2.0       7.2       8.5       12.12 (84)

SANDRINGHAM                  2.2       3.3       6.7       6.8 (44)

GOALS
Gedi 2, Alao, Gregor, Marotta, Mathieson

Written by Amelia Tran - Sandringham FC Media

Photography by Alexander Tharapos