Coburg ready for VFL rise in 2019 after strong off-season and influx of exciting young talent

Coburg might have only won one game last year but coach Leigh Adams believes the stand-alone club has one advantage over its AFL-affiliated rivals — a stronger bond.

Coburg coach Leigh Adams speaks to his players last year.

Coburg coach Leigh Adams believes the stand-alone club has one advantage over its AFL-affiliated rivals — a stronger bond.

The Lions are one of five stand-alone clubs in the VFL, with players training and playing around work commitments.

After a horror 2018 resulted in just one win, Coburg’s pre-season has been its strongest in decades and a membership drive saw the club reach its goal of 1000 members on Friday in a massive accomplishment for a community club.

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Adams has overseen a huge player turnover in the off-season with more than 20 players departing.

Instead, the Lions have invested in youth with a host of former NAB League players and rising local football stars committing to the club.

Adams, a 104-game player with North Melbourne, said the connection developed during the pre-season was one big difference between his club and its AFL-affiliated VFL rivals.

We did it! We’ve hit our 2019 target of 1000 members.
To everyone that has become a member in 2019 thank you for helping the club hit its target and we look forward to seeing you in 2019 starting with this Saturday at 12.30pm at Piranha Park when we take on Frankston#WeAreCoburg

— Coburg Football Club (@CoburgFC) March 28, 2019

Former Gold Coast Suns Academy player Brodie Foster. Picture Tim Marsden

Mitch Podhajski will play full-time with Coburg. Picture: Jordan Zmood

“I think it gives them a little bit of a closer bond if anything,” he said.

“We’ve got them three nights a week and most of those boys are coming off work sites where they started at 7am in the morning and are still expected to turn up and do really tough work, particularly during the pre-season.

“We feel as though being a stand-alone club and doing a lot of work together helps us jell a little bit.

“It feels like this year we’ve got young guys in who are really keen to learn and listen. From that point of view it’s been pretty easy. They want to get better and do the right thing.”

Mitch Podhajski, Jack Evans, Ben Reddick, Lucas Cavallaro (Calder Cannons), Mark Baker, Braedyn Gillard (Northern Knights) and Xavier Fry (Eastern Ranges) have graduated from the NAB League, while Steve Stroobants (North Melbourne VFL) and Luke Di Lizio (St Bernard’s) add experience and hardness around the ball.

Despite last year’s challenges, Adams was confident his team was ready to rise.

Steve Stroobants in action for Vic Country in 2017. Picture: Yuri Kouzmin

Luke Di Lizio in action for St Bernard’s. Picture: David Crosling

“It’s a really hard one in VFL footy … there’s a lot of luck of the draw,” he said.

“You get an AFL team at the right time of the year when they’ve got a few injuries or at the back end of the year when they put a few blokes in for surgery, you probably give yourself more of an opportunity.

“On the flipside of that, if you’re getting AFL listed players in teams that are getting ready for finals or have an injury-free run that can have up to 20 AFL listed players playing they can be really tough games.

“We’re really confident we’ll have a better year. Whether that becomes five or six wins or two or three wins or 11 or 12 wins, we’re not 100 per cent sure.”

Coburg starts its campaign with a home game against Collingwood on Saturday.

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