The Sandringham Zebras line up against Collingwood this Saturday in the ABC TV Match of the Round for the Peter Jackson VFL. Both teams enter Round 6 eager for a win after disappointing losses last weekend.
Collingwood had a promising start against the Box Hill Hawks in their previous round, but it was short lived. The Club’s Player Development Manager, Christian Stagliano believes the group could not meet the Hawks overall drive to run out the game.
“We did start the game reasonably well against Box Hill last week, they were able to get on top of us in the second quarter and we didn’t match their intensity. As the result indicated they were able to establish a match winning lead during that quarter and we weren’t able to peg back their lead.
With that said, Mr Stagliano has been impressed with the efforts of his VFL core group.
“We have been pleased with the performance of our VFL listed players thus far this year. Jack Hillier, Ricky Ferraro, Rob Cathcart and Chris Doria were all solid contributors on the weekend.”
When asked of their preparation for this weekend’s game combined with the AFL ANZAC Day clash, Christian felt that it has had, if anything, a positive effect on their lead up.
“The AFL game hasn’t had a major influence on our preparation, we have trained on the same days we do during a normal week. The AFL game being played mid week has provided us with a clearer indication of who will be playing on Saturday.
The Magpies VFL side have retained AFL star Alan Didak for another week after he was not selected for the Club’s match on Wednesday. Didak’s experience and ability to acquire the football will provide the Club with a strong leader out of the ground.
Collingwood are placed 11th on the ladder and have prepared themselves for a tough challenge against the Zebras.
“Sandringham has had some very strong wins this year against very good sides in Box Hill and North Ballarat at Ballarat this season. They finished the game against Williamstown last week strongly and have demonstrated the ability to kick big scores. They are a dangerous opposition,” Mr. Stagliano said.
Sandringham currently sits in 5th place on the Peter Jackson VFL ladder, with 2 wins and 2 losses. Following their 19 point loss to Williamstown on the weekend, coach Simon McPhee expressed how important a strong start is for the Club.
“I thought we were comprehensively outplayed for the first half by a committed and disciplined Williamstown. We definitely need to stay in the game earlier,” McPhee said.
Simon McPhee was able to extract some positive aspects from the contest including his admiration for mature age players Beau Wilkes and Farren Ray. Wilkes slotted through 2 goals for the day and delivered 5 influential tackles. Ray was able to provide the Zebras with a reliable presence in their backline during tense moments in the game.
Sandringham will enter this contest with intensity and poise, leaving nothing behind.
“We will be approaching this round with the same conviction as any other game, 100%,” McPhee said.
Collingwood and Sandringham met twice in 2011, resulting in two wins for the Zebras.
Can they continue?
Collingwood vs Sandringham Zebras – live on the ABC, Saturday at 1pm
Last Modified on 27/04/2012 15:54