Coburg Tigers

Infobox aus sport club | clubname = Coburg Tigers


fullname = Coburg Tigers Football Club
emblem = Tigers
strip = Navy blue guernsey with a red sash, navy blue shorts, navy blue socks with red top
founded = 1891
sport = Australian rules football
league = Victorian Football League
firstseason = 1921
ground = Coburg City Oval
capacity = 15,000
song = "Oh We're From Coburg Town"
president = Lill Priest
coach = Jade Rawlings
captain = Paul Shelton
season = 2007
position = 2nd of 13

The Coburg Football Club is an Australian rules football club based in Coburg, a northern suburb of Melbourne, and currently playing in the Victorian Football League. Coburg have an alignment in place with the AFL's Richmond Football Club which saw the Coburg club change its nickname from the Lions to the Tigers from the commencmenet of this arrangement in 2001. Season 2007 ended with the senior team as runners-up and the reserves side win their premiership.

Coburg City Oval

Coburg City Oval is the home ground of the Coburg Tigers and was also home of the North Melbourne Football Club for the 1965 VFL season. The ground has a grandstand on southern end near the goals. Terraces surround the rest of the ground.

The capacity of the ground is 15,000 while the highest attendance recorded was 21,695. There are seats for approximately 3,000-5,000 people

History

Coburg 1891-1999
Coburg-Fitzroy 2000
Coburg Tigers 2001-

Club records

VFA/VFL Premierships - 1st Division
* 6 (1926, 1927, 1928, 1979, 1988, 1989)VFA Premierships - 2nd Division
* 2 (1970, 1974)

The club were runners-up to the Northcote Football Club in three successive seasons from 1932 to 1934. They were also runners-up in 1941, 1959 , 1980 and 1986.

Coburg has prolific goal kickers such as Bob Pratt (South Melbourne Football Club) and Lance Collins, during the 1930s. Lance Collins in his first official season (he was injured in 1935 and played one game), kicked 16, 12, 11 and 10 goals in separate games. He kicked 116 goals for the 1936 season and in 98 games for Coburg Football Club (VFA) his tally was 432 goals. Collins played in the 1945 Carlton (VFL) Premiership side. Bob Pratt kicked 183 goals in the 1941 VFA season for Coburg, which was the highest number of goals kicked in a VFA season until Ron Todd of Williamstown (VFA) beat that record and kicked 188 goals in 1945. Bob Pratt and Lance Collins have kicked the most goals by two players in a season :they kicked a total of 256 goals in 1941. Pratt kicked 22 goals in a match against Sandringham Football Club: a club record. Apart from Bob Pratt (183) and Lance Collins (73), Coburg also had N.Glenister who kicked 37 goals, giving the three players a total of 293 goals which is the highest total goals score in the VFA or senior competition of Australian rules football by three players in a season.

The only J.J.Liston trophy winner for Coburg was Jim Sullivan in 1967. Prior to 1943 the Best and Fairest Award in the VFA was the 'Recorder Cup'. Coburg VFA winners were Peter Reville (ex-South Melbourne VFL) who was the equal winner in 1936 and E. "Snowy" Martin in 1927.

Jim Sullivan was credited by club statistics to have amassed 54 kicks in a match in 1969, which is the second highest recorded in senior football competition and the highest in the VFA competition. Coburg has the second highest number of reported players in a VFA match, which occurred in the 1933 Grand final against Northcote Football Club.

After many years in the doldrums, the club enjoyed somewhat of a rebirth in the late 1970s, with a continued period of success until the 1990. During that time, the club won three flags, and finished runner-up another two times.

Superstar and VFA legend Phil Cleary was a member of all these games, as either a player or a coach.

Dave Starbuck holds the club record for games, with 219, played mostly in the 1950s. He is closely followed by cult figure, Vin "The Tank" Taranto, who played during the 1980s and the dark days of the 1990s, when the club was at its lowest and almost folded. Third on the games list, on 205 games, is Cleary.

Famous Fans

Famous supporters of Coburg, harking back to the days when they were known as the "Lions" in the VFA include Cleary, former Trades Union boss Dean Mighell, and 3SER stats doyen Anthony Brady.

Team of the Century

Coaches and Captains

Club Jumper

External links

* [http://www.coburgtigers.com.au/ Official Coburg Tigers Site]
* [http://www.fullpointsfooty.net/coburg.htm Full Points Footy Profile for Coburg]