Williamstown has sealed the Victorian Football League minor premiership after a dominant 43-point win over defending premiers Footscray at the Victoria University Whitten Oval on Saturday.
It is the first time since 2010 the Seagulls have finished the home-and-away campaign on top, with their 2015 premiership coming after they qualified for the finals in third place.
“It’s a real accolade for the playing group,” Seagulls coach Andrew Collins said.
“We spoke after the game [about] what a great group of young men they are and how hard working they are.
“They compete against professional teams and to produce such professional performances to finish on top is awesome.”
Williamstown will play a home final at Morris Street for the first time in eight years.
The Seagulls will roll out the welcome mat for the fourth-ranked Casey Demons for a qualifying final at Burbank Oval on Saturday.
“It gives us a great advantage,” Collins said.
“The percentage of wins at home over my four years would run into 80 per cent.”
With no AFL games this weekend, Williamstown is confident the crowds will flock to Burbank Oval to see them in action.
The Seagulls have enjoyed strong crowds all season with their fan engagement up there with the best that any VFL club has to offer.
“It’s become a real community day out, particularly for families,” Collins said.
“The club has done a really good job in getting a family corner with an animal farm, rides, jumping castles and barbecues.
“We’ve just gone from strength to strength on our home games and we’re hoping for a few thousand to come out on the weekend.”
It will be another milestone game for Williamstown veteran Ben Jolley who will play his 200th game for the Seagulls.
The strength of Williamstown’s season has been its ability to mesh the young and the old.
The Seagulls have some of the most exciting youngsters in the league and some of the most reliable experienced campaigners.
The plaudits have come for Collins, who is at the forefront of the Seagulls’ coaching staff, for putting it all together, but he quickly pointed out that it was a team effort across the board.
“I appreciate the accolades, but we’ve got a terrific coaching team in place,” Collins said.
“Michael Osborne, Robbie Campbell, Clay Illman and Matty Pearce, they allow me on game day to coach from the ground because I have that trust in these guys.”
The highlight of Williamstown’s win over Footscray was a skyscraping mark from Arryn Siposs that will be in contention for mark of the year. Siposs rode the back of Bulldogs player Liam Nash, dragged the ball in mid air with one mitt and controlled it down to the ground.
Lachlan Schultz also took a highlight-worthy mark, further cementing himself as a player to watch with three goals, while Sam Dunell also lobbed three. Adam Marcon claimed best-on-ground honours.
The Bulldogs face Essendon in an elimination final at Fortburn Stadium in Port Melbourne on Sunday.
