Sports shorts: Seagulls surge to beat rivals

Williamstown midfielder Michael Gibbons. (Shawn Smits)

VFL

Williamstown produced a gritty performance to beat arch-rivals Port Melbourne by seven points in a low-scoring VFL game at a wind-swept Burbank Oval on Sunday. The Seagulls came back from 15 points down at three-quarter time to win after booting four of the last five goals of the match in the last quarter. Sam Dunell had a major impact, snaring two goals as a forward and some intercept marks in defence, while Michael Gibbons continued his stellar season with a strong showing in the midfield. Meanwhile, Footscray suffered a seven-goal loss to Werribee Tigers at the Whitten Oval on Saturday. The Bulldogs were never in the hunt after trailing by 33 points at quarter-time. Josh Dunkley was the standout for the Bulldogs, racking up 34 possessions, putting him back in the running for AFL selection for when the Bulldogs play the Adelaide Crows at Etihad Stadium on Saturday night.

 

FFV

Altona Magic is the team to beat in the Football Federation Victoria men’s state league 1. The Magic downed last year’s champions Western Suburbs 5-2 in an ominous display at Ralph Reserve on Saturday. Adamson Ajayi fired in a double for the Magic, while there were also goals to Jon McShane, Ben Clarke and Jason Hayne. The Magic has five wins from five games. In other results, Yarraville Glory was beaten 2-1 by Preston Lions, while Altona East Phoenix lost 2-0 to North Sunshine Eagles. In state league 2, Altona City had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Essendon Royals, while in state league 3, Melbourne City and FC Williamstown both won.

 

Lacrosse

Footscray Lacrosse Club bounced back from a mid-week loss to Newport in the Lacrosse Victoria women’s state league grand final with a 16-4 thrashing of Caulfield at Caulfield Park on Sunday. Sarah Smith led the way with three goals and an assist, while Sarah Mollison had two goals and four assists. In men’s state league, Williamstown came back from two goals down at quarter-time to beat Footscray 15-5 at Fearon Reserve on Saturday. Ben Newman scored four.