Tara Murray
It wasn’t to be for Williamstown against Carlton in the Victorian Football League women’s finals on Sunday.
Playing finals for the first time, the Seagulls were made to pay for a poor period in the third quarter ending their season.
While the Seagulls fought hard in the final quarter, they weren’t able to get over the line, losing 3.4 (22)-2.6 (18).
Seagulls coach Liam Cavanagh said while they were able to give themselves a good crack to continue their journey, the Blues were able to find a way.
“We didn’t put ourselves in the best position to win,” he said. “The third quarter was massive.
“They scored two goals into the non-scoring end and it made a massive difference in the game.
“We lowered our colours for five minutes and they made us pay.”
Trailing by eight points heading into the last quarter, the Seagulls’ hopes weren’t helped when the rain started to fall.
Cavanagh said they didn’t have the opportunities in their forward line in the last quarter to even look like winning.
“There were maybe one or two half chances,” he said. “It was mostly played in our defensive half and it got out the back one or two times.
“We were able to link up and kick one in the last 30 seconds but there was never an opportunity to steal the game.”
Cavanagh said Sharnie Whiting was really good off half back and consistently attacked for them, while Ellie Cleland had a good mix of tackling, possessions and hitting the scoreboard.
Overall, Cavanagh said they had a really good game defensively, having 110 tackles, but just didn’t win the ball enough.
While disappointed with the result, Cavanagh and the whole club is proud of how far they’ve come this season.
“It’s hard to be disappointed,” he said. “Where we came from last season in 11th place, it’s really good.
“Even if our season had have finished a week earlier we would have still been happy. No matter who wins it, we will be a bit annoyed that it isn’t us though.”
While the group has made massive inroads collectively, a number of players have stepped up individually.
Cavanagh said there’s a number of players who have become good genuine VFLW players.
“Teagan Brett has been the story of the year,” he said. “She spent two years on Carlton’s list and played four or five games.
“She leads the competition in score assists and eighth in the league goal kicking. She wasn’t good enough to play VFLW, now she’s a star player at VFLW and possibly beyond.
“Maddie Edwards, Emily Eaves and Stella Bridgewater are still youngsters. They were around the mark, they are now genuine VFLW players.
“They are only going to get better and hopefully we’ll add a few more youngsters next year.
While the season has only just finished, focus will soon turn to next year. Cavanagh said it would be about continuing to progress forward.
“We’re looking forward to breaking it down and what the strengths and weaknesses are,” he said.
“We don’t want to roll out the same program. We want new avenues and we want to paper over the cracks in different areas
“We don’t want to do the same stuff. What we’re doing is attracting players and there’s been a lot of interest in other VFLW players wanting to come and join us.”
