WILLIAMSTOWN jumped into the Victorian Football League top two following a 14.15 (99) to 10.4 (64) victory over Collingwood on Sunday.
Should the Seagulls claim second spot – with three games remaining, Geelong has all but secured first – they will host a home qualifying final.
And they went a long way to doing just that with an impressive final term at Victoria Park.
Collingwood rallied to cut the margin to just two points at the three-quarter time siren. The Magpies’ closeness was largely due to sound goalkicking – they kicked nine from 10 shots, as Williamstown sprayed nine wide from its 17.
Williamstown coach Peter German urged his players to take the game on in the final quarter while ensuring they didn’t let their defensive efforts slip, which had resulted in Collingwood’s run-on in the third term.
His players followed his instructions to a tee. Brent Prismall was busy early in the term with several forward thrusts and the beneficiaries kicked truly. Fletcher Roberts presented well and kicked two goals, Patrick Veszpremi kicked two of his four for the afternoon, and goalsneak Anthony Anastasio added another to give him three for the day.
At the other end Collingwood struggled under the Seagulls’ pressure; there was no easy passage inside 50. The Pies had to rely on hurried kicks in play, resulting in a number of behinds and complete misses as Mark Austin and Lukas Markovic repelled attacks.
Ben Jolley was his usual outstanding self, and the likes of Willie Wheeler, Cam Wood and Ed Carr are all hitting their straps at the right time. Bulldogs-listed Jake Stringer was cleared of a broken right foot.
“It was really pleasing that we were able to run the game out,” German said after the match. “It was pleasing that we were able to keep working hard even when we didn’t have
the footy. A lot of times we were able to turn that into attack and that’s how we got a lot of our goals.
“We knew Collingwood had a really capable side with players like Alan Didak, Andrew Krakouer, Adam Oxley. It was probably their best side for the year and we knew if we turned it into a more uncontested style of footy it would suit them,” he said.
“We really put the pressure on them in the last quarter and we had the attitude of wanting to defend when we didn’t have the ball.”
Williamstown hosts Geelong in a top-of-the-table clash this Sunday.
