MARIBYRNONG PARK v WEST COBURG
Saturday 2:15pm at Coburg City Oval
Maribyrnong Park and West Coburg are set to do battle in an enthralling Strathmore Community Bank Division One grand final.
After being relegated from the top flight last year, Brodie Holland’s men have notched up 13 successive wins on their way to their first grand final since winning the 2010 Premier Division flag.
For West Coburg, it's been another strong season that has coincided with their second top-two finish in a row as well as their third straight grand final.
Saturday’s clash is the fourth time the sides have met in 2024, with West Coburg winning their Round 1 clash by 16 points, while Marby got their revenge in Round 17 and again in the qualifying final, winning by 79 and 24 points respectively.
Back in Round 1, it was West Coburg’s dominance at clearance that punished a wasteful Maribyrnong Park.
The Burgers won the clearance battle 52 to 41 thanks to ruck dominance from Damian Galofaro and Blake Ross which allowed them to generate an extra two goals from stoppages – ultimately the difference in the end.
Tom Drake was everywhere for West Coburg, collecting 29 disposals while Dinny Cleary was able to win his own ball finishing with 13 contested possessions and 10 clearances.
Ibby Taha did the damage on the scoreboard with four goals to help his side over the line.
In Round 17, Marby were able to turn the tables on West Coburg and punished the Burgers off turnovers.
Marby’s efficiency also improved significantly scoring from more than half of their 59 inside 50s, while West Coburg weren’t able to capitalise on their clearance dominance, kicking 5.11 from 44 inside 50s.
It was the experienced campaigners that got the job done for Marby with Sean Hetherington, Matthew Gaul, and Alex Barba all starring with each player collecting more than 27 touches, while James Kayrooz and Tom Wyatt did the damage on the scoreboard with three goals each.
In the semi final just two weeks ago, it was West Coburg’s inaccuracy that cost them the week off and the first spot in the grand final.
Despite again winning the clearance battle (+15), the Burgers were wasteful in front of the goal converting just five goals from 25 scores.
Gaul was dominant at the contest for Marby finishing with 26 disposals and seven clearances while Kayrooz punished the Burgers on the scoreboard with two goals from his 10 touches.
For Marby to lift the cup on Saturday at Coburg City Oval, they will need to have the game played out in the open and continue to look to punish West Coburg off turnovers.
Holland has endeavoured to move the ball with speed and try and get in behind the opposition’s backline resulting in the Lions being the most prolific offensive side.
Brodie Romensky and Gaul are among the top 10 in the competition for score involvements and contested possessions.
If Marby, are able to force forward half turnovers like they did in Round 17 and Gaul and Romensky find the footy in their hands, they should find themselves back in Premier Division.
For West Coburg to win on Saturday it will all be about capitalising on their dominance at stoppages.
The Burgers are the number one clearance team in the competition and have dominated Marby out of stoppage in their three encounters this year.
West Coburg weren’t able to capitalise in the semi final and struggled to score despite providing themselves chances.
If the Burgers can gain the ascendancy out of the middle again, they need to make the most of their opportunities if they want to have any chance of lifting the cup.
