‘Ordinary people do extraordinary things’: How Lions made history

Coburg Districts journey to its first senior women’s premiership was nothing short of a rollercoaster in just the past year alone. Here’s how it all happened.

Jacinta Brew celebrates a goal with Chiara Chiavaroli. Picture: Andy Brownbill

When Gavan Wray-McCann was named Coburg District women’s coach, he knew he had a tough task on his hands.

Before the start of the 2024 season, the Lions had lost 13 players from last season.

“We didn’t know if we were going to field a side,” he said of the start of his coaching tenure.

Fast forward to a day after the EDFL Division 2 women’s grand final and Wray-McCann is now Coburg Districts’ first women’s premiership coach.

The Lions secured a 3.5 (23) to 1.5 (11) win over Sunbury to lift the trophy.

He’s now reflecting on everything it had taken to get there.

“It comes down to Coburg Districts being a great club,” he said.

“They put so much effort into the women’s program, not something all clubs do. We have our own stand-alone change rooms, the whole facility is outstanding.

“They’ve worked really hard to elevate the program not just for now but looking to the future as well.”

One key theme Wray-McCann employed during the season after crossing from West Preston Lakeside in the Northern league was to make “ordinary people do extraordinary things”.

“Three players came to the club with me, others fell into our lap, a couple of the girls had never played footy in their lives,” he said.

“Throughout the year, I played girls everywhere, we always wanted to grow our knowledge of the game every time we stepped out onto the ground.

“I’m no tactician, I just wanted the girls to know they could do it if we threw them into different positions and it’s what we did on Saturday.”

Liv Woods was named the best player on the ground with Wray-McCann praising her performance.

“The last five weeks she hasn’t been anywhere near 100 per cent but it was probably the best she has felt in a while,” he said.

“She’s also a state level basketballer which means her weekends are very busy. There’s times where she’d play with us and then go play another game.

“She’s just a quality person.”

Amanda Thompson, Giuseppina Tarantello, Harmoni Chivell and Chiara Chiavaroli were also named in the best for Districts.