Coburg coach Tim Clarke provides his exclusive summary of how the Richmond-listed players performed at VFL level in last Sunday’s win against North Ballarat.

Jake Batchelor

Played his best VFL game for the season.  Was really solid defensively on all of his opponents, but also provided the team with great run and rebound football. 

Ben Darrou

Had another solid game at full-back.  Is back to his reliable best after being sidelined for five weeks with a broken jaw.   Provided the team with plenty of offensive movement and rebound. 

Tom Derickx

Played his best game for the year.  Had 68 hitouts, which is the most in a VFL match this season.  His ruckwork and contested possessions resulted in five or six goals for the team.  This needs to be his standard for the remainder of the season. 

Aaron Edwards

Was sore going into the game after copping a knock the previous week, so he played deep forward throughout.  Still managed to have five shots for goal, kicking three, and he also set up several other scoring opportunities for teammates with good passes.  A gutsy performance. 

Todd Elton

Had a forward role on Sunday and ended up having a couple of shots for goal.  Took five marks for the game, which was a good result.  Still needs to work on getting to more contests in order to have a bigger impact.

Dylan Grimes

Was solid in defence.  Played on one of North Ballarat’s key forwards  and didn’t have a goal kicked on him.  Also provided some good offensive movement, and will be better for the run.

Brad Helbig

Played a solid inside game for the first three quarters, winning plenty of contested ball and helping set up our offensive ball movement on the outside.  Copped a heavy knock in the third quarter, which resulted in him taking no further part in the game. 

Sam Lonergan

Played a very good contested game.  Was solid all day around the contests, with the highlight of his performance being his last quarter, where he racked up 14 disposals, including nine clearances, to help set up the team’s fast finish.

Liam McBean

Provided plenty of energy up forward with leading patterns both coming at the ball and also leading into space.  Hit the scoreboard well, finishing with six goals (6.1).  It was a very good return after missing the previous week through injury.

Matthew McDonough

Played a really good game through the midfield and up forward.  Helped set up many scoring opportunities with his effective disposal.  Tackle pressure and repeated efforts have become a highlight of his game.

Robin Nahas

Continued his terrific form across half-back and through the wing.  Picked up another 30 possessions and was the main architect behind our offensive ball movement. 

Match details
Coburg                 2.2          5.5          9.8          15.11  (101)
Nth Ballarat        1.1          6.6          10.7        13.7  (85)

Goals – Coburg:  McBean 6, A. Edwards 3, Maric 2, Brandt, Elton, Clifton, McDonough.
Best – Coburg:  Lonergan, Nahas, McBean, Uysal, Derickx, Venditti.