EDFL 2021: Lynden Dunn boots three goals in West Coburg debut
Former AFL defender Lynden Dunn made his much-anticipated return to local football on Saturday — as a forward.
Essendon
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West Coburg marked Lynden Dunn’s first appearance for the club with a hard-fought 23-point win over Hillside in Essendon District Football League Division 1 on Saturday.
Dunn, who is a playing assistant coach at the Burgers, bagged three goals in the 15.18 (108) to 12.13 (85) victory at Shore Reserve.
The 33-year-old was absent for the opening two rounds for precautionary reasons, but produced an encouraging first-up performance.
Dunn played 198 games for Collingwood and Melbourne at AFL level before retiring last year and putting pen to paper with West Coburg for two seasons.
“We had a good crowd, a good response from our junior parents and players, so we had good numbers,” president David Gloury said.
“All in all, it went well. Lynden kicked his three goals and played very, very well and certainly helped in the win.
“He’s so instructional when he’s on the field. He’s able to almost coach the boys on the ground and it just made a huge difference, plus just his presence.
“At halftime things were looking a bit shaky. Hillside are a quick side and I think (West Coburg coach) Dale (May) re-jigged things at halftime and we came home really strongly.”
The Burgers also unleashed their potent three-pronged attack for the first time, with Dunn combining with Liam Bowkett (four goals) and Daniel Archer (one) to cause plenty of headaches for the Sharks.
“That really does stretch an opposition. They worked really well together,” Gloury said.
Archer was a dominant presence around the ground and earned best afield honours, sharing his time between the forward 50 and the ruck.
“Just his strength and his marking around the ground was fantastic,” Gloury said.
“We felt he was probably our best player.”
Hillside led by six points at the main break before West Coburg booted 10 majors to six in the second half to score its second consecutive win.
Marco Serruto, Karl Staudt and Tom Drake were other standouts.
The Sharks were well-served by Lachlan Henseon, Rusiate Komaitai and Jeremy Hayes.
“Hillside will give a test to lots of teams I think,” Gloury said.
“They move the ball very, very well. The smaller ground at Shore Reserve probably didn’t suit them, so I can imagine them on a big ground, they’d cause lots of teams some troubles.
“We think we’re going OK. It probably comes down to making certain we can continue to have our best 22 on the ground.
“Injuries are always going to be a bit of an issue, but we think we’re building nicely.”
The Burgers have also made an effort to promote youth this season, with Harry Weaver, Patrick McCallum and Ibrahim Taha featuring in all three games, while Northern Knight Emilio Rinaudo took the field on Saturday.
“We’re just a big believer you’ve got to have kids in your team,” Gloury said.
“They’re enthusiastic, they’ve all got pace. The four of them have been fantastic.
“Lynden being able to coach those young boys and young men about positioning and football smarts has been really significant for us.”
Gloury noted Tullamarine’s 16-point victory over flag favourite East Keilor at Leo Dineen Reserve in Round 3 “gives all of us a bit of hope”.
The Burgers will next tackle Sunbury Kangaroos away from home in Round 4.
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