Tara Murray
Williamstown got back on the winners list in the Victorian Football League on Sunday in a hard fought slog against Collingwood.
Winter had come early at Point Gellibrand with conditions testing for both sides.
It was the Seagulls that managed to make the best of them, holding off the Magpies in the last quarter to seal a 9.14 (68)-6.8 (44) win.
Seagulls director of coaching Jeff Andrews said the group had been keen to get back out there after a long two weeks since their last match.
“It was pretty dire conditions,” he said. “It was wet and there was a strong breeze.
“It was old school, good touch contested footy.”
The Seagulls were able to kick a couple of goals against the breeze to set themselves up with a 30 point lead heading into the final quarter.
Andrews said while they had a good lead, they still had to make sure that they worked hard in the last quarter to hold on to the lead.
“It was a really good performance all round,” he said.
Matthew Walker, Darby Henderson and Nick Ebinger two goals each for the Seagulls.
Ben Jolley led the way with 29 disposals, with Andrews saying Jolley had made a name for himself playing in those sorts of conditions.
Marty Hore had 25 disposals, while Oscar McDonald had 13 marks.
Andrews said those three and ruck Tom Downie were the standouts in the win.
The Seagulls now sit 4-2 with a clash against Sydney this week in Sydney.
Andrews said they used to bye week to review the first part of the season.
“There’s been a lot of positives out of the first five games,” he said. “We’ve got a lot of new players who are gelling well.
“There’s still a lot of improvement, but we are heading in the right direction. It’s important to keep working on things.
“We play against AFL sides that are really good in the contest and we have to be good in that area. They have up to 14-15 AFL guys who run really hard.”
Meanwhile the Seagulls women’s side snuck home against the Western Bulldogs.
The Seagulls took the early lead, before the Bulldogs kicked four goals in the second quarter to lead by one point at the break.
Three goals to nil in the third quarter gave the Seagulls a 19 point lead heading into the last quarter.
The Seagulls managed to hold on in the final quarter, to win 6.7 (43)-6.2 (38).
Sharnie Whiting kicked four goals for the Seagulls.
