The win now moves the Northern Blues to eleventh on the Peter Jackson VFL ladder and keeps the Blues away from the bottom of the ladder.
It was a whirlwind display in the first term, as the Northern Blues set up their big win with a flurry of eight unanswered goals to leave the Tigers 51 points behind and scoreless heading into the first break.??
Tyson Thomas led the way with two goals in the opening term and was causing major problems for the Coburg defence.??
In comparison to the first term, the second was much more even, with both sides managing two goals apiece. Defender Pat McCarthy booted the only Blues goals for the quarter as a surprise starter up forward.
After half time, the Northern Blues continued on their merry way as they slammed home another five goals for the quarter to extend their lead to 72 points come the final break. The major highlight of the third term came from Rohan Kerr, who on his left boot, from the left forward pocket boundary, snuck in one of the more incredible goals seen this year.
Relishing the big lead, the Blues were not prepared to put the cue in the rack as they continued to pressure the Tigers and cause turnovers and mistakes. Come the final siren, the Blues would fall one point short of a three-figure win, though Assistant Coach Matthew Capuano was pleased nonetheless with the team's performance, "Our ability to pressure the opposition when they had the footy was a real highlight for us and I am really pleased with our boys intent and willingness to do the hard things."
Instrumental in the win were Adam Marcon, who finished the afternoon with 33 disposals, Jordan Russell, who in his 50th VFL match finished with 22 disposals and Tom Wilson, who was a revelation in the forward half, booting four goals.
Capuano praised the "unsung heroes" of the team. "Marcon's been really consistent for us, and then you see Tom Wilson come in and kick four goals and Kane Lambert does a job for us every week. Those guys are a really vital part of our team and have all had really good years."
A major positive for the Blues both at VFL and AFL level was the return of key forward Jarrad Waite from injury. Capuano was pleased with Waite's output in his comeback game. "He got through. He probably needed the run and it was great that he didn't encounter any problems during the game."??
With four games left in the season, Capuano is hoping the Blues can finish 2012 on a high note. "We lost to Port Melbourne last week, so by no means do we think we have fully turned the wheel around, though we are really hoping in the final games we have left to play that we can finish the year off as well as we can."??
On a bleak day for Coburg, Jerome Webberly was the leading stat-getter with 26 disposals, while Angus Graham held his head high in the ruck with 47 hit outs.
Round 19 sees the Northern Blues travelling to Casey Fields to take on an enormous task in the Casey Scorpions while Coburg will travel to Box Hill City Oval where they will meet sixth-placed Box Hill.??
Goals: T. Wilson 4, T. Thomas 3, P. McCarthy 3, J. Waite 2, D. Ellard 2, R. Kerr 2, K. Lucas 2, N. Meese, T. Currie, A. Marcon, D. Buckley
?Best Players: A. Marcon, K. Lambert, T. Wilson, P. McCarthy, M. Watson, B. Bransgrove
