The might of Geelong was too much for an undermanned Williamstown
in Saturday’s preliminary final, the Seagulls’ Victorian Football League
season ending with a 11.12 (78) to 24.16 (160) loss.
The Seagulls lost midfielder Ed Carr and defender Mark Austin
early in the first quarter, hampering their rotations and limiting their
run.
Still, much of the first term was goal-for-goal, with Jason Tutt,
small forward Anthony Anastasio, young Jack Johnstone and Cameron
Lockwood nailing majors for Williamstown. Geelong took a 14-point lead
into quarter-time thanks to doubles from Shane Kersten and Ryan Bathie.
Unfortunately for the Seagulls, so impressive in their dismantling
of Port Melbourne in the second semi-final, Geelong’s prolific attack
kicked into gear after the first change.
After a tense start to the second term, six goals to three behinds
gave the Cats a 50-point lead at half-time. Kersten and Josh Walker
were proving tough for the Seagull defence, while Trent West got on top
in the ruck and Jed Bews and Mitch Brown marshalled the backline.
Geelong ran away with the game with 11 consecutive goals in
the second and third terms, with the lead getting out to 67 points
before Cameron Wood marked and kicked truly from 50 metres.
Williamstown got four for the term but the Cats kept coming and
led by 62 points at three-quarter time. Seagulls coach Peter German
urged his players to leave nothing in the tank in their bid to win the
final term. They kicked three goals, but the Catsadded another six, briefly flirting with a triple-figure margin before running out 82-point winners.
For the Seagulls, Willie Wheeler rounded out an excellent season
with a strong performance, Jack Johnstone excited again and Ben Jolley
did everything he could.
German was disappointed but said Geelong was simply a much better side.
“To be realistic, we played a very good side,” he said. “They’re the yardstick of the competition by a long, long way.
“You look at their size, strength, speed. They’re so clinical in the way they go about their footy.”
It wasn’t all bad however – the development side had a thrilling one-point golden-score win over reserves powerhouse Box Hill.
“That’s the positive of our season,” German said. “That’s given us
a ray of hope because with a few more years’ experience, these kids are
going to be the lifeblood of the club.”
