Williamstown was left to lament a bevy of botched second half chances in a 20-point loss to blossoming rival Footscray in the Victorian Football League qualifying final at the Whitten Oval on Sunday.
The Seagulls were tracking strong until time-on in the third quarter, when they allowed the Bulldogs a roll-on to extend their lead to 22 at the last change.
The Gulls kicked with the aid of a strong breeze in the last term, so it was far from an unassailable deficit, but they did not help their own cause with errant kicking in front of goal.
“Up until the 20-minute mark of the third quarter we felt we were in control of the game,” Seagulls football manager Chris Dixon told Star Weekly.
“We were really disappointed with the way we finished off that third quarter, giving up four goals really late and it allowed them to wrest back momentum.
“Then we had the aid of the breeze in the last quarter and couldn’t convert our chances.
“It was 2.8 to 3.0 and to the Bulldogs’ credit, they were able to stop us from having clear shots on goal.
“A couple we kicked under pressure but there was a couple of set shots which we obviously would’ve liked to nail.”
Adam Marcon was the only clear winner of his position on the day.
A host of other Seagulls flashed in and out of the game.
Marcon’s pressure was incessant, applying 14 tackles to go with 27 possessions.
“A lot of players were just playing in patches and we didn’t really get the consistent performance that we would’ve liked,” Dixon said.
“But Adam’s game was nothing short of sensational and hopefully he can continue that form into this week against Werribee.”
Footscray advanced to the preliminary final, where it will meet the winner of Port Melbourne and Sandringham.
The Bulldogs have received a groundswell of support since the AFL side was out of the finals picture with more than 7000 in attendance.
They saw a hungry Dogs side start strongly with the wind, registering the opening four goals of the match.
The Seagulls took back control with an exhilarating seven goal second term to hold a 10 point lead at half time.
But the Gulls loosened their grip over the contest late in the third and did not recover.
Tory Dickson put the icing on the cake for the Bulldogs with three goals, while Ayce Cordy, Lin Jong and Brett Goodes were impressive.
Liam Jones put on an aerial show with eight marks.
The Bulldogs will enjoy a week’s rest, while Williamstown fights for survival against arch-rivals Werribee in the semi final on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Footscray ruckman/forward Tom Campbell finished third in the Liston Trophy vote count for best-and-fairest at the VFL’s night of nights on Monday.
Campbell polled 15 votes, five back from winner Alex Woodward of the Box Hill Hawks.
Scott Clouston was the leading vote-getter for Williamstown with 14.
The VFL team of the year was named with Footscray’s Nick Lower (onball) and Williamstown’s Clouston (full forward), Brad Mangan (back pocket), Ben Davies (wing), Nick Meese (ruck) and Ben Jolley (onball).
It was a big night for Jolley, who was awarded VFL life membership.
