Coburg is one game away from a perfect home-and-away SEWFL season
In just its second year of existence, Coburg is just one game away from a perfect home-and-away season and has high hopes for premiership glory.
Vic Womens
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Coburg women’s is on the brink of perfection.
In just their second year of existence, the Lionesses are one game away from an undefeated home-and-away season.
Such as been the club’s dominance this season, the reserve grade team has lost just one game all year and is also on top of the ladder.
Fourth-placed Frankston faces the daunting task of travelling to Piranha Park to stop the 13-0 Coburg in the final round of the South East Women’s campaign on Sunday.
The Lions claimed a 48-point win over the Dolphins at SkyBus Stadium in Round 2 and followed it up with a 56-point triumph at home in Round 8.
Coburg coach Liam Cavanagh isn’t shying away from the opportunity at hand, instead using it as a motivation.
“It’s exciting, you don’t want to count your chickens before they hatch of course but this week we’ve embraced it rather than hid from it,” he said.
“Sometimes society tells you to keep your head down and stay humble and don’t look too far ahead and there’s absolutely merit in that.
“For us, it’s almost finals coming a week early if we put the pressure on ourselves to win and have the perfect season and I think there’s good lessons to take out of that.
“As much as it doesn’t matter and won’t affect our standing, it does matter and it’s a special thing a perfect home-and-away season.”
Coburg has an average winning margin of 35 points in its 10 victories this season, with three forfeits.
Premiership rivals Mornington and Seaford have come within seven points of the Lions in game this season and loom as the biggest threats.
A nail-biting come-from-behind win over the Bulldogs in Round 13 gave Cavanagh’s team a crucial wake-up call on the eve of finals.
“Mornington give us a good run for our money two weeks ago and our review was treated like a loss,” he said.
“Let that be the loss we needed to have but we still got the four points.
“We wanted to send a message to the comp, we’ve sharpened up after getting a jolt and we learnt a hell of a lot after that game, and we came out the next week and won by 100 points.”
Mornington, Seaford and Frankston are all locked on eight wins heading into the final game of the season.
The Bulldogs and Tigers will face off on Sunday for the chance to face Coburg in the major semi-final the following week.
However, Frankston could still finish second if it beats Coburg and makes up the 6 per cent gap to Mornington, which would have to win.
Coburg finished fifth in its maiden campaign when COVID forced the season to be called off early.
The disappointing finish and missed chance to show the league what it was capable of was major motivation for Coburg coming into 2022.
Cavanagh reflected on the “rapid rise” the club had achieved and was confident it could continue to improve.
“It’s pretty strange to think back and a little over 18 months ago Coburg women’s football didn’t exist,” he said.
“We’re very grateful to be in this position but the flip-side of that is when you walk in and see the work being put in, girls on the track at 5pm for a 6pm session doing extras, it makes sense because we deserve it.
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“(Last year) through obviously circumstances we couldn’t control we didn’t get to show what we were capable of.
“A big part of this year’s messaging has been don’t take anything for granted, we never know when you’re last win is going to come so enjoy every one of them and enjoy each other’s company.
“There’s definitely a hunger and a point to prove and a want to beat some of the teams we hadn’t before.”
Finals begin on August 20.
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Grassroots footy clubs in search of much-needed funds have a perfect opportunity coming next week. Find out how you can apply.
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