Coburg Lions news

From the Coburg official website Reprted by Adrian Dixon Full article - Click here pk-box-hill-coaching-v-blues Paul Kennedy brings a huge wealth of experience to the Lions for 2016. PHOTO: Jenny Owens Photography. With under a month to go until the beginning of preseason, we’re delighted to announce that 2005 Sandringham Premiership player and Frankston club stalwart Paul Kennedy will be a Senior Assistant coach of the club for 2017, and will also be our Head Development coach. Known as ‘PK,’ he comes after stints on the coaching panel at Frankston and the Box Hill Hawks, but is perhaps best known for his time as a Dolphins player, and it was the similarities between Coburg of today and Frankston in the mid-late 2000's that drew Kennedy to Piranha Park. "The way Coburg have gone about things the past three years, with really high expectations on themselves to improve and perform, reminds me of Frankston during the successful time we had under Brett Lovett," Kennedy said.

From The Sunday Age
Reported by Brent Diamond
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VFL stand-alone clubs Coburg and Port Melbourne have proven they are finals' material after resolute victories on Saturday.

To the contrary of most football pundits who believed that AFL stand-alone clubs would dominate against teams made up of part-time footballers, the Lions and Borough knocked off Footscray and Essendon respectively – in another major step forward for the competition.

Coburg are in the mix to make their first finals series, since splitting with former AFL affiliate Richmond, while Port Melbourne are pushing for the top four. Of course, reigning premier Williamstown are in second position, again flexing their muscle under coach Andy Collins.

The Seagulls and Borough have both won VFL flags over the past six seasons as stand-alone VFL clubs. Coburg's rise – along with some competitive rigour and drive from Frankston and North Ballarat (albeit being on the bottom of the ladder) – has the competition in a healthy state.

Bulldogs VFL coach Ash Hansen believes playing against VFL stand-alone clubs assists with the development of their younger players.

From The Age
Reported by
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Have you heard the one about the Jew and the Muslim? At Coburg it's no joke. Already a club with a reputation for promoting multiculturalism, the Lions took things one step further last week when they signed forward Jake Lew from amateur club AJAX.

Lew is Jewish, and is set to line up next year in perhaps the most ethnically diverse forward line ever assembled. Lew's signature follows that of former St Kilda goalsneak Ahmed Saad, a Muslim, who returns to state ranks to play alongside mates Danny Younan and Ozgur Uysal. Younan was born in Australia to a Lebanese mother and Syrian father, while Uysal is a Turk. The Lions' forward line also includes Lech Featherstone, who as detailed last year in Pssst, was named after a Polish union leader of the 1980s.

From the Herald Sun
Reported by Paul Amy
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THE 2015 VFL season kicks off on Friday with Werribee hosting Geelong under lights. Leader sports editor Paul Amy rounds up each club’s ins and outs.

BOX HILL HAWKS

Coach: Marco Bello

Last year: runner-up to Footscray Bulldogs

In: Cadeyn Williams (Richmond), Jack Sandric (Hobart City), Lochie Adey, James Handley (Blackburn), Matthew Burt, Chris Jones, Liam Kidd, Matthew Traynor (Eastern Ranges), Billy Murphy, Sam Switkowski (Northern Knights), James Sullivan (Tatura), Patrick Dillon (Donvale), Xavier Dimasi (Assumption/Calder Cannons), Ben Fitzpatrick (Korumburra/Bena), Dalton Graham (Sandringham).

Out: Luke Andrews, Callan Burns, Corey Cassidy, Sam Cust, Jackson Eade, Tom Goodwin, Jake Kalanj, Tom Miles, Xavier Murphy, Matt Northe, Nick Papadopoulos, Kalem Post, Michael Thompson, Brandon Wood.

The verdict: the Hawks have lost top-line midfielders in Xavier Murphy and Luke Andrew as well as the emerging Brandon Wood. But they’ve picked up former Tiger Cadeyn Williams and have good young players coming through in support of senior men Sam Iles, David Mirra, Marc Lock and Liam Tobin. Premiers in 2013 and runners-up last year, there’s no reason to think there will be a slackening of standards.

Player watch: Mitch O’Donnell. He’s as hard as a coffin nail and he’ll be granted more opportunity after an excellent pre-season.

Celebrating season 2014 with the Casey Scorpions and A Positive Move

Click on read more for a full club by club report.