Sandringham was outclassed by a strong Coburg team in difficult conditions at Mantello Oval. Coburg convincingly won by 32 points even after rain drenched the oval in the last quarter. Nick Ciantar looks at how the game played out for Sandringham.
The Zebras began the game strongly with St Kilda listed players Trent Dennis-Lane and Justin Koschitzke being impressive lead-up forwards. Dennis-Lane kicked two goals in the first quarter and the Zebras were winning the clearances. Tom Lee looked lively for the Zebras, whilst Spencer White used his agility to manoeuvre around the opposition. Coburg were struggling to get the ball past half way and Tom Simpkin was impressive as a loose defender. The Zebras led by six points at the first break and looked ominous with their impressive movement through the midfield.
Sandringham's ability to play through the middle was over-turned in the second quarter and Coburg began to get on top. Chris Knights was influential and the Zebras struggled to find an answer to Liam McBean up forward. White was unrewarded for a chase and tackle and the Zebras struggled to find momentum. The Zebras trailed by 13 points at the main break and needed to get back on top quickly.
Despite all of the Zebra’s efforts, they simply could not break the Coburg’s midfield, as they extended their lead to 30. With light rain falling, Curren and Dennis-Lane gave the brave fans some hope by kicking the last two goals of the quarter, to trail by 26 points at the final break.
Lee got Sandringham off to a great start in the last quarter with an early goal to reduce the margin to 20 points. However, the heavens opened and Coburg kicked away almost instantly and overran the fumbling Zebras.
McPhee was disappointed after the match about his team’s efforts.
“We didn’t win enough of the ball. We were a long way down from a possession point of view and we didn’t use the ball particularly well.
“We didn’t take the game on [and] they beat us in the centre clearances early.”
Curren started his 2013 season just like the way he ended his 2012 season. He finished with 24 disposals, two goals and four tackles and if he was not a St Kilda rookie, he would be knocking on the door for a spot in the Saints team. Dennis-Lane was the star of the Zebra’s forward line with five goals, including a spectacular running goal from just inside 50 in the second quarter. Pat Tiernan was solid on debut, finishing with six disposals in the tough conditions.
Adam Cockie was at his formidable best in the midfield, however, his opposition outclassed him and he finished with 17 disposals. Nathan Wright finished with 13 disposals and was one of the Zebras shinning lights on the day by showing some dash across half-back.
Koschitzke was well held in the forward line and finished with two goals. Seb Ross showed some promise and gathered 19 disposals, many of which were hard ball gets. Another St Kilda listed player in Jimmy Webster was the real surprise of the day. He has bulked up over the summer and has a pin-point left foot – he ended the game with 11 disposals.
McPhee said after the game that he was pleased with some of the efforts from his St Kilda listed players, but there is room for improvement.
“Lee can play … I thought Nathan Wright was pretty good [and] Brodie Murdoch was pretty good.
“There certainly was some real positives from the St Kilda point of view but we just need to be more consistent with our effort for four quarters.”
Marcus Marigliani ended the game early after sustaining a broken tooth in the first quarter due to a heavy collision.
In what was a sour day for the club, the Zebras will need to go back to the drawing board to find their 2012 rhythm. McPhee highlights that winning the ball-ups around the ground is a key area.
“The ball-ups around the ground, we just don’t dig in enough … we need to try and improve that as the year goes on.”
Sandringham meets reigning premiers Geelong at Simonds Stadium Sunday at 1pm.
Last Modified on 11/04/2013 14:00