The underdog barks: Coburg claims stirring VFL victory over Casey Scorpions

STAND-ALONE Coburg has claimed the scalp of the Casey Scorpions by eight points in an old-fashioned VFL boilover.

VFL - Coburg v Casey Scorpions at Piranha Park Coburg . Casey's Tim Smith flies for a nice mark. May 18th 2014. Picture : Colleen Petch

FOR stand-alone Coburg, it was a win to savour.

For the Casey Scorpions, it was a demoralising loss that had coach Rohan Welsh questioning the commitment and character of his players.

As he emerged from the coaches box at the Coburg City Oval on Sunday, Welsh bore the look of a man who would struggle to keep his emotions in check once he reached the privacy of the changerooms.

He spoke to his men for 20 minutes — and be assured he didn’t shower them with compliments.

His comments to the media soon after amply illustrated his disgust with the eight-point defeat.

Casey, fielding 13 Melbourne players, led by as much as five goals in the second quarter, lifted by the run of Michael Evans, Jordie McKenzie, Viv Michie and Dean Kent.

But the Burgers kicked three goals into the wind in the third, two of them to Jake Anderson, to edge to within one point at the last change.

It prompted Welsh to train a blowtorch on his players at three-quarter-time.

They were, he fumed, “full of nothing at the moment’’.

He challenged them to come together in adversity, raise their effort and win the match.

“I don’t think you can. Go and prove me wrong,’’ Welsh told them.

Jack Fitzpatrick, who’d provided around-the-ball energy after being thrown in the ruck in the third quarter, snapped a good goal at the seven-minute mark to put the Scorpions seven points in front.

It was hard going into the wind, hard going that had earlier brought out Coburg’s fight.

The Burgers defended desperately for the next 10 minutes as the visitors searched for an opening to build on their slight advantage.

Then came a Casey turnover across the centre of the ground.

Rather than keep play on the defensive side of the ground, the Scorpions went inside and coughed the ball up.

Coburg’s Errol McConnell pounced.

Errol was in like Flynn.

With no one in front of him, he took off like a greyhound, having three bounces and running into an open goal.

Casey had been made to pay for an act of carelessness.

Three minutes later it was counting the cost of poor discipline, when a player gave away a 50m penalty for abusing the field umpire.

It put Nick Robertella within range and he slotted it.

There was no way back for the Scorpions.

They were humbled by a young team that used energy and enthusiasm to overcome a more talented opponent.

It was Coburg’s second successive win and it walked off to hearty applause from its supporters.

Amid excited chatter in the rooms, coach Peter German spoke of his pride in the performance and particularly the third quarter, which he called “outstanding’’.

“We won the contested ball, we won the stoppages, the real things now that are actually really important in footy … you win on the inside, it will set you up on the outside,’’ German said.

German said there was a “real bond’’ between the players.

“It’s not like with an aligned club,” he said.

“They don’t care. It’s like, ‘Yeah, we won, righto, see youse later’.

“But they’ll actually stick together.

“It feels really like a footy club now, not just a satellite type of situation where they’re in and out, see you later.

“These blokes actually care and stay and stick and are really starting to create mateship.

“That’s what footy’s all about.’’

The Burgers paraded exciting talent in tall forward Lech Featherstone, who kicked four first-half goals and decorated the match with a soaring mark in the second quarter, take-them-on defender Adam Saad and utility Aaron Christensen.

Featherstone joined the club this year after two seasons with Pascoe Vale.

He’d previously played at Heathcote.

German said the right-footer had taken on the responsibility of being the club’s key forward. As for Saad, he agreed he should be in the state squad.

While German was fizzing, Welsh was as flat as a table.

The unavailability of Troy Davis and injuries to Mitch Gent, Nathan Page and Will Petropoulos put a thin look on the line-up, but Welsh felt the Scorpions had enough in reserve to take the points.

“It was a test of their character,” Welsh said.

“I questioned that at three quarter time and I was right.

“I didn’t think they had it in them to fight and they didn’t, clearly.

“They played a team that showed them how to play.

“At the end of the day they (Coburg) got their just rewards and we got our just rewards.

“We got beaten. And so we should have.

“We had eight blokes who had one or no tackles in an entire game of footy.’’

Asked what he would report to Melbourne coach Paul Roos, Welsh said: “I’ll tell him to watch the tape. He might be sick.’’

*SCOREBOARD

Coburg 2.0 6.2 9.3 11.8 (74)

Casey Scorpions 4.6 7.9 8.10 9.12 (66)

GOALS: Coburg: Featherstone 4 Anderson 2 Christensen 2 Robertella McConnell Carnell

Casey Scorpions: Evans 2 Fitzpatrick Kent Rosier Best Barry Nicholson Smith

BEST: Coburg: Featherstone Linton McConnell Blair Sturgess Christensen

Casey Scorpions: Michie Evans Fitzpatrick Tapscott Nicholson Kent