Tara Murray
Williamstown overcame the rain and the Southern Saints to maintain its spot at the top of the Victorian Football League women’s competition.
While the Seagulls were on the road against the Saints on Sunday there was some nice familiar weather with conditions similar to what they might have found at Williamstown.
The Seagulls were able to kick the only two goals of the first quarter and that was able to set up their game.
The margin stayed steady in the second quarter before the Seagulls did all the scoring in the second half to come away with a 7.3 (45)-2.3 (15) win.
Seagulls coach Liam Cavanagh said they had been itching for some wet weather footy.
“We were conscious that the Saints were better than the ladder suggested,” he said. “They had lost six of their last eight games by less than a goal.
“We came in thinking it would not be an easy one. We were pretty happy with the way we played.”
Cavanagh said they kept it similar in the wet and it was around the contest where they took control of the game.
Had said they dominated the clearance game and were able to put some scoreboard pressure on.
“It’s hard to chase down on a wet day,” he said. “Our clearance work was good.
“We had some lapses and the Saints had periods of dominance. We kept it simple and created enough chances to kick goals and kicking nearly 50 points in the wet is not easy.”
Cavanagh said they had good synergy between their mids and forwards.
Sharnie Whiting kicked two goals for the Seagulls and was one of their best, creating a number of opportunities.
Cavanagh said Ash Thorneycroft played one of her best games and was dominant in the middle before being rested in the final quarter.
He said they had strong performers across all three areas of the ground.
The Seagulls remain on top of the ladder, a game clear of the Box Hill Hawks and the Western Bulldogs with two rounds remaining.
Cavanagh said while it’s good to be top they can’t let the foot off the pedal.
“We would like to secure the double chance and if we don’t know, it’s our own fault.”
The Seagulls face Essendon on Saturday. The last time the two teams played it was a draw.
“For me they are the form team of the competition,” Cavanagh said. “They lost today [Sunday] playing against an AFLW team.
“There’s no better time to play them and we’ll learn a lot in the next seven days.”
In the VFL, Williamstown lost a second straight game, this time going down to Southport, 13.13 (91)-7.4 (46).
