Harper Sercombe
Williamstown sits within the top four of the Victorian Football League with one round remaining.
The Seagulls won their fifth game in a row in a finals like clash against the Brisbane Lions on Saturday afternoon in Queensland.
The match was tight all day in warm conditions, with only three points splitting the sides at half time.
The Lions came out strong from the major break booting three goals in the third term to give them a two goal lead with a quarter to play.
The Seagulls were up for the challenge kicking six goals in the last to the Lions three to give them a 14.6 (90)-13.6 (84) win.
Seagulls’ director of coaching Jeff Andrews said they got what they were expecting.
“I think our maximum lead was 19 and theirs was 13 so it was a see-sawing affair all day,” he said.
“We had a quality win against Casey in the last couple of weeks and this was probably just as good against quality opposition.
“Our boys are growing and getting better week by week.”
With three goals coming to each of Joel Ottavi, Noah Gadsby and Mitch Cox, Andrews said the side has struck a good balance.
“We had lots of good contributors yesterday. Down back as per usual, through the midfield and to have a good spread of goals,” Andrews said.
“We certainly were not relying on one person, so to have that spread of goals across the three players was exactly what we were looking for.”
The Seagulls will most likely need a win on the weekend to guarantee themselves a top four finish but have already ensured a week off while the wildcard games occur.
“Finishing top four sort of opens things up a little bit more for us. So that’s the aim,” Andrews said.
“We’ve got to get to finals healthy as well, so there’s a bit to work through in the next couple of weeks.”
With 16th placed Sandringham to wrap up the home and away season, Andrews said it won’t be as easy of a game as it may look like on paper.
“They haven’t had the wins or season they would have liked, but that’s always going to be tied to their AFL list, and St Kilda are really healthy at the moment, so that will certainly present some challenges, it always does,” he said.
“We’ll have our work cut out for us.”
