Williamstown is the AFL Victoria development league champion after
a dramatic one-point extra-time win over Box Hill Hawks in the grand
final at North Port Oval on Saturday.
The Seagulls were on top for most of the opening three quarters on
the back of stellar performances from best-on-ground Josh Bench, Sean
Hetherington and Sam Critchley.
At the mid-point of the third term, the Seagulls led by 37 points.
But the Hawks were determined to fight this one out until the end.
They trimmed the margin back to 19 after three quarters and eventually forced additional time after scores were level at full-time.
Fittingly, it was an off-line shot from Bench that came off hands and went through for a behind to seal the Seagulls victory.
It was an encouraging result for the Seagulls. They will rely
heavily on the promotion of development-league players next season as
they cut ties with the Western Bulldogs, who will field their own
stand-alone VFL team for the 2014 season.
