From The Age

Reported by Chris Walker
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AT COBURG City Oval last night, there was a familiar scene. Having finished training, Natale Caruso and his younger brother Fortunato could be found handballing and kicking stab passes to each other, honing their already fine skills. Mick, their father, patiently waited in the club rooms, ready to serve the Coburg Tigers players their Friday night pasta.

Tomorrow, Nat and Fort will stand side by side for only the 11th time in a match when Coburg takes on Williamstown in the VFL first preliminary final.

"They are the soul of our club," said coach Andy Collins of the young brothers from Fawkner. "It's the way they train. You could not ask for two more professional guys and they have had outstanding seasons. They're the energy behind our success so far this year."

Both joined Coburg from the TAC Cup competition having played for the Calder Cannons.

NORTH Ballarat will be without rising star and no-nonsense tagger Ed Lower for its biggest assignment of the Victorian Football League season - a preliminary final against Geelong at Port Melbourne tomorrow.

The Selkirk Roosters have lost Lower to the Kangaroos, with the 20-year-old to tackle Hawthorn in an AFL semi-final at the MCG tomorrow night.

Lower has been in superb form.

North Ballarat coach Gerard FitzGerald has had no hesitation giving Lower the biggest run-with roles in the opening two weeks of the finals.

Lower has not only shut down Bendigo Bombers and Sandringham, but also been one of the Roosters' most creative players.

Robbie Gregg and Kangaroos-listed Ben Hughes are at the front of the line to replace Lower.

But each has to prove his fitness after being sidelined with strained hamstrings.

Hughes was the most impressive of the two at Roosters training at AUSTAR Arena on Wednesday night.

GEELONG VFL captain James Byrne has added another accolade to his wonderful career by taking out the JJ Liston Trophy last night.

The 29-year-old won the VFL's best and fairest award by two votes from Sandringham's Shane Valenti.

The inspirational midfielder led the voting by three votes after the first 11 rounds.

He didn't add another vote again until round 15, missing votes in round 13 despite racking up 43 possessions in Geelong's win over Frankston.

He picked up two votes in round 15 against Port Melbourne, as teammates such as Shannon Byrnes, Josh Hunt and Jason Davenport continued to share the spotlight.

Following the round 16 bye, he added another three votes in the round 17 win over Coburg to take a one-vote lead over Valenti.

The umpires awarded him another vote in the round 18 win over North Ballarat, extending his lead to two.

NORTH Ballarat is in the hands of the Kangaroos if there are to be any major changes for tomorrow's Victorian Football League semi-final clash with Sandringham at Port Melbourne.

Prolific goalkicker Robbie Gregg remains the only question mark among the Selkirk Roosters' VFL listed players.

Gregg is struggling with hamstring soreness.

If coach Gerard FitzGerald rules him out, Matt Riggio is the most likely replacement to ensure an emphasis remains on pace and running power.

FitzGerald will make his call after training tonight.

The Kangaroos last night named Leigh Harding and Ed Lower on an extended interchange for their qualifying final battle with Geelong on Sunday.

Lower was close to North Ballarat's best in the startling 37-point victory over Bendigo Bombers on Saturday, while Harding made his biggest impact since returning from knee surgery mid-season.

This is the closest Harding has been to a return to the AFL, but he most likely going to have to wait a little longer before getting promoted.

If Lower is to force his way back into the Kangaroos line-up, he will have to squeeze out fellow youngster Andrew Swallow.

97.7 FM 3SER Match review

Courtesty of Anthony Brady

In the first weekend of finals in the TRUenergy Victorian Football League

(VFL) for season 2007, the Casey Radio 97.7FM 3SER team saw Williamstown down Sandringham by two points in a classic encounter at Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval Werribee, on Saturday.

The scene was set right from first light on the day, with glorious sunshine and no breeze greeting fans who packed the terraces at Sandringham's home ground.

With the oval backing right onto Port Phillip Bay, it's rare for there not to be a cool breeze wafting over Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval, but this day was made for football, and the huge crowd of approximately 4000 attending the first ever final at Sandringham's home certainly appreciated it.

The crowd was the biggest seen in Zebra territory for years, and made for an electric atmosphere. Many members of the Collingwood cheer squad were in attendance, most of whom dressed in full Williamstown regalia, including cult figure Jeff "Joffa" Corfe, sporting a Williamstown jersey with Sharrod Wellingham's number 41 on his back. Added colour was given to the game when the Williamstown fans made a special banner for the players to run through, a sight only seen at VFL level during Grand Finals.

The toss was won by Sandringham captain Chad Liddell, who elected to kick to the grandstand end of the ground, though any wind advantage to that end was negligible.