EDFL 2019: Coburg Districts star Tom Gleeson injured in victory

One of Coburg Districts’ key players is set for a spell on the sidelines after hamstring tightness forced him from the field in the first half of the club’s nail-biting win over Hadfield.

Michael O'Dea gets a kick away for Coburg Districts.

Coburg Districts star Tom Gleeson is set for a spell on the sidelines after hamstring tightness forced him from the field in the first half of Saturday’s nail-biting win over Hadfield.

The playing assistant coach watched on as the Lions moved to 3-1 with an eight-point EDFL Division 2 triumph over a much-improved Hawks outfit, 11.11 (77) to 10.9 (69).

“He just felt tightness. He didn’t do (a hamstring), so we’ll probably be conservative and give him a couple off just to get it right,” coach Chris Tankard said.

“He played the first six minutes and then came off. We threw him on for a couple of minutes in the second quarter and he came straight off.

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“That’s part of what we’re about. Everyone plays their role and he knew he couldn’t play his, so he came straight off.

“To be honest, that’s a big difference between this year and last year. Blokes play their roles, they’re accepting it and just getting on with business.”

Chris Tankard calls the shots. Picture: Hamish Blair

Spencer Aitken produced an “outstanding” performance across half-forward for the winning side and was rewarded with three goals.

Tankard was also glowing in his praise of Nick Sim and Oliver Aitken, with the pair shutting down key Hadfield pair Heath McKerchar and Brandon McRedmond in the second half.

“That ability to play your role and sacrifice yourself for the betterment of the team was really important to us,” Tankard said.

Coburg Districts kicked just four majors to half-time and trailed by 19 points.

But Tankard felt his team lifted in the latter stages of the second term after Hadfield had controlled the midfield exchanges.

“We went and watched them last week, so we knew what they’d do,” he said.

“I reckon they’re the best contested-football side in the comp, so we knew they’d pride themselves on that.

“They’re going to upset a few sides in the next couple of weeks.

“I thought we were second to the footy (in the first quarter). I thought they controlled the game and they were proactive and we were reactive.

“At half-time I was happier because I thought the last six or seven minutes (of the second term) we got it back on our terms.”

Nikolas Dimeski, Ben Fisher and Michael Young were also influential for the Lions.

Jesse McNamara and Nick Ciampa are set to return for next week’s vital clash against Moonee Valley, which would help ease the loss of Gleeson.

“We’re happy with where we are,” Tankard said.

“We’ve got a big three weeks coming up, so if we can win two of the next three we’ll be really happy with where we are.”

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