Reigning premier Williamstown has picked up where it left off last season with two wins from two VFL practice matches.
The Seagulls have encountered long road trips to Casey Scorpions and Frankston Dolphins, where they have secured comfortable preseason victories.
“We’re happy to get the results but it’s not all about winning at this time of the year,” Seagulls football manager Chris Dixon told Star Weekly. “Probably more happy with the game against Casey last week and felt our performance wasn’t as strong today. We came up against an up and coming Frankston team in tough conditions with the wind favouring one end of the ground for most of the day.”
Despite a stubborn opponent, Williamstown prevailed over Frankston by a hefty 36 points at the Frankston Oval on Saturday.
With places up for grabs for round one, it was a chance for new Seagulls to impress and for coach Andy Collins to mix and match his line-ups.
“We had a number of guys who only played a half or three quarters,” Dixon said. “We had 28 guys roll through our team so it’s pleasing all 28 got through unscathed.”
It was a day when versatile bigs Ayce Cordy and Tyler Curtis shone for the Seagulls.
Both had a commanding presence in the air and finished with two goals apiece.
Cordy was one of the biggest names to cross to the Seagulls nest in the off-season, having played 27 games with the Western Bulldogs.
Expect the 204cm tall to spend the majority of his time as a forward.
“Good to see him bob up with a couple of goals,” Dixon said. “He’s proving that he’s going to be a really tough match-up up forward. His height will be a dangerous weapon for us.”
Jake Grieser was the stand out of the younger midfielders with 18 disposals, while Liam Griffiths impressed off half back.
Willie Wheeler looks set for a bumper season after three-goal, high-possession game from the midfield.
Skipper Ben Jolley and ruckman Nick Meese combined well in the centre.
The Seagulls have the week off for Easter before their final preseason game against Sandringham Zebras at Burbank Oval on April 2.
The Gulls will use that day to launch their season and ramp up their membership drive.
“We’re hoping we can get a fair few people down there to build some momentum going into our round one game against Richmond,” Dixon said.
Meanwhile, Jack Johnstone is facing a race against time to be ready for round 1.
Johnstone suffered a “freak work accident”, partially slicing a tendon in his hand.
“The good news is he didn’t go completely through it, so it’s only a partial tear, but it needs a bit of time to heal,” Dixon said. “The positive for Jack is that he can maintain his fitness, he was out there doing a bit of running today, probably covering as much ground as a lot of the boys.
“From a fitness point of view, it’s not going to be an issue, it’s just a case of whether the hand recovers in time.
“We’ll assess that in a couple of weeks time.”
