How times have changed. This Saturday the North Ballarat Roosters line up against the Coburg Tigers at Eureka Stadium in very different circumstances to previous years.
Last time they met in Round 17 2011 the Roosters annihilated the Tigers by 92 points. However, this year paints a very different picture, with Coburg sitting in eighth place and North Ballarat below them in twelfth with just one win for the season.
North Ballarat approaches their Peter Jackson VFL Round 8 contest fresh and energized from the bye last weekend. Roosters Coach, Gerard FitzGerald is an advocate of the current fixture and always ensures his team makes the most of their planned breaks.
“We really value our bye’s. We plan them so that they act as a benefit not a misfortune. Our Development side had a game over the weekend so the staff still went about their usual duties, but we were able to work with the senior players differently.
“We work on an individual management basis, where players are dealt with depending on their needs. Some received a bit of medical assistance for niggles that they have, others did extra work on areas of their game that they need to strengthen and a few that have been carrying heavy workloads and playing a lot of minutes were rested to recover for this weekend’s game.”
North Ballarat currently sits in twelfth place on the VFL Bailey Ladders ladder, recording one win and five losses this season. FitzGerald believes that although this is unchartered territory for the Roosters, they are playing solid football and have maintained a positive attitude.
“The vibe at the Club is alright. We had one fantastic quarter against Port Melbourne a few weeks ago and produced a ripper game against Casey in Round 6 before our bye. We know we can play good footy, we just need a win.”
The Roosters have named premiership forward Paul McMahon in their side this round. McMahon returns after being sidelined for the past five weeks due to a hamstring injury. He will provide the Club with a strong target up forward whilst offering some much needed on field experience and leadership.
North Ballarat will enter their match against Coburg with a holistic approach rather than concentrating on the strengths of specific opponents.
“We generally steer away from focussing on individuals from the opposition and concentrate on a team’s methods and systems. When we learn from this then we can adjust our game plan.
For example, we know that Coburg are very tall and have a lot of height up forward. We will have to be aware of this on the day, unless injuries change their line up,” FitzGerald said.
Coburg advance into Round 8 in eighth spot after a loss to Werribee last weekend. The Club sits at three wins and three losses, which Coach Adam Potter wishes to build upon.
“We are always looking to improve. Week in and week out we are challenging our players with their training, preparation and reviewing their performances to make us a better team collectively. We have had some good wins and have been pleased with this but last week was a disappointing effort against Werribee.
“Our challenge is to become more consistent as a group and ensure we are playing with the right structure for longer periods across each game. The players understand these processes; it is now about trying to sustain our efforts across a whole game. We are still a relatively young squad in terms of age and experience so we are always looking for ways to improve.”
Coburg’s form in Season 2012 is a far cry from where they sat this time last year. Concluding Round 7 matches in 2011, Coburg had not recorded a single win. Potter aligns this about turn to strengthening certain areas within their team and their game plan.
“Defensively we have made some improvement throughout the first six rounds. Before the weekend we were up in the top three defensively only averaging 80 points against. This has been a big focus for us over the summer and over the first five rounds our defensive structures had been pleasing.
“We have had good stability in our coaching group which allowed us to really break up the responsibilities when it came to teaching our players the expectations over the pre-season.
“The alignment is also working really well. Players such as Angus Graham, Luke McGuane and Jeromey Webberley have been consistent performers at VFL level. We are still averaging 6 first year players each week and young players such as, Nick Maric, Todd Elton, Matt Arnott, Piva Wright, Brett O’Hanlon and Benny Darrou are learning quickly which has assisted our development as a team.”
Although Coburg suffered a significant loss to the Werribee Tigers last weekend, Potter was impressed by certain performers in his side.
“Leigh Masters and Willie Wheeler who are both young players in the VFL Academy performed well. Leigh has come up from the Development Squad two weeks ago and he did a good job in nullifying Robbie Castello’s influence on the weekend. Willie had a good game in the midfield and his last two games in particular have been very good. Benny Darrou was also good down back and has shown he is very capable at that level.”
The Tigers have named a similar side to the group that took to the field in last week’s loss, showing the faith Potter has in his players. The team will see one new addition, with AFL listed Ruckman Andrew Browne lining up for the side after 97 hitouts in the Development League last week.
Coburg enters their clash with North Ballarat prepared for a tough contest, conscious that the ladder does not always represent the strength of a team.
“We have a lot of respect for North Ballarat, even though they have only won the one game they have been close in a couple of the other games and they are very hard to beat at home. Myles Sewell as always is contributing well at the level and Cruize Garlett is dangerous through the midfield. We are expecting a tough game and we are looking forward to the challenge,” Potter said.
Last Modified on 11/05/2012 15:36