Oliver Lees
Having had its first taste of finals last year, new Williamstown Victorian Football League Women’s captain Eliza Straford said her team is prepared to go even further in 2024.
Since joining the competition in 2018, the Seagulls put together its strongest season last year, finishing third on the ladder behind Collingwood and Port Melbourne on percentage.
But that achievement was short lived, as the Seagulls bowed out in the first round of finals to Carlton, losing by four points after leading at half time.
The Seagulls’ third place finish marked a dramatic improvement from the season prior, where they finished in 11th place with just two wins from 14 games.
Straford said playing finals was a massive learning experience for the entire playing group.
“We’ve never even looked at finals [in previous seasons], so especially for the girls that have been there for a while it was a learning experience on how to perform under pressure,” she said.
“We’ve found out how to stick to a game plan under those pivotal moments, how to keep our heads and have composure.
“Obviously that will be put to the test over the next few weeks, but fingers crossed we have learnt quite a lot.”
The Seagulls’ list has been bolstered ahead of the 2024 season with a number of new signings.
The addition of Neve Crowley from Essendon Doutta Stars will add height to the Seagulls’ forward and ruck stocks, while Mia Giannopolous from Darebin Falcons will add running support. Megan Smart from the Williamstown Juniors program and Kiera Leare from Hillside are expected to add depth in the midfield.
Straford said getting more support forward of the ball was a focus from a list management point of view.
“It’s been a big six months of pre-season, we’ve done well to recruit a few young guns and pull across players from other teams which is really exciting,” she said.
“We’re probably at our fittest which is a big credit to our high performance team, we’re feeling pretty good and the energy around the club is really positive.”
Now on the back of three consecutive preseason wins, she said the team’s confidence is at an all time high.
“It’s now about putting it out on the park, I think we want to bring an attacking game style and take the game on with speed and fitness across the ground,” she said.
This will be Straford’s first full season as captain of the club after being chosen by her peers to replace Erin Meade, however she already spent much of last season as an on field leader after Meade went down with a shoulder injury in round one.
This will be her sixth season at the club having joined the team when it began competing in the VFLW.
On March 23, the Seagulls will kick off its season against Darebin at La Trobe University in Bundoora.
The Seagulls had the edge over Darebin in the first pre-season matchup of the year, defeating them by 10 points.
