By David Nagel
It’s not how many you lose…it’s where you lose them!
Cora Lynn coach Shaun Sparks has had an interesting first half of the season when it comes to injuries.
Going into the round nine clash against Phillip Island on Saturday, his Cobras had 13 players play all eight games this season…more than any other team in the West Gippsland Football Netball Competition (WGFNC).
But the players he is missing, well they’re crucial to how the Cobras go about their football.
On Saturday at the Cowes Recreation Reserve…Phillip Island exposed the Cobras where they’ve been hit hardest by injury.
The starting midfield for a fully-functioning Cobras outfit would definitely include Heath Briggs, Jaxon Briggs and Thomas Stiglich, who were all missing on the weekend against the Bulldogs.
Heath Briggs missed round seven through injury, and then rolled his ankle late in the last quarter against Warragul Industrials in round eight.
His brother Jaxon, one of the most explosive midfielders in the WGFNC, has been sidelined with a serious shoulder injury since the Cobras season-opener against Tooradin-Dalmore.
Stiglich, a rock-solid and consistent performer in the guts, has now missed three games on the trot and probably won’t return until either side of the July 1 bye.
The versatility of Brady White has also been missing for all but one game this season, while defender Luke Black would have been the perfect choice as stopper as Billy Taylor ran amok with five goals in the second half on Saturday.
Once again…it’s not how many you lose but where you lose them!
Sparks won’t be making excuses…that’s not what successful clubs like Cora Lynn do, but the impact was obvious at the 32-centre ball-ups that took place on the weekend.
Instead of names like Briggs, Briggs, Stiglich and White…at different times on Saturday the Cobras had Jeremy Monckton, Jai Rout, Hayden Spierings and Luke Hartley trying to match motors with the likes of Brendan Kimber, Cameron Brown, Eli Richards and Hayden Bruce in the centre circle.
Monckton has made his name as a classy left-foot winger while Rout is one of the most damaging and exciting medium-sized forwards in the business.
Spierings and Hartley are valuable commodities for the Cobras, but more likely to be effective in short bursts through the middle to provide the missing brigade with some rest time.
The five players missing also expose a young and developing bottom half dozen who would otherwise be building some strong footy foundations in the twos.
And getting towelled up at the centre clearances is massively frustrating when you have one of the most dangerous forward lines in the WGFNC not getting the quality supply required to trouble the Bulldogs frugal defence.
Ryan Gillis kicked five, and Nathan Gardiner four, on a day when lace-out disposal was a rarity.
Phillip Island was far too classy for the Cobras on Saturday…but you have to feel for Sparks.
Because it’s not how many you lose…but where you lose them!
