WILLIAMSTOWN might be heavily influenced by youth in the Victorian Football League this season, but it would not have saluted for a tense, 19-point win over Sandringham Zebras at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday without its experienced band of leaders.
The Seagulls were crying out for someone to steady the ship after the fast-finishing Zebras overturned a 28-point three-quarter-time deficit to get within one point with eight minutes remaining in the last quarter.
Up stepped two of the Seagulls’ mainstays of recent years, captain Ben Jolley and veteran Brett Goodes, along with Jamie McNamara, a new recruit with AFL experience, to take the blue and golds to victory.
“It was important that our leaders stood up,” Seagulls coach Peter German told the Weekly.
“When we needed someone to lay a good tackle or win a clearance, those players were pivotal in that area and that allowed the forwards to get on the end of their good work.”
The Seagulls were the more switched on in the first quarter. They burst to a five-goals-to-nil quarter-time lead, displaying the tenacity they showed in a hoodoo-breaking win over North Ballarat a week earlier.
But unlike eight days earlier, the Seagulls couldn’t slam the door shut on the Zebras.
“We approached the game with the same sort of intensity we played for four quarters the week before,” German said. “Then in the third quarter we dropped off and allowed them, when we had the breeze, to stay within striking distance.
“A key challenge in football is to be able to, when you do get a good start, maintain that style of play and intensity that got you the lead. We fell into a trap of protecting the lead rather than building on it.”
It made for a pulsating last term for the spectators.
The Zebras had all the momentum as they got to within a point almost into time-on. But the Seagulls arrested the situation, booting the last four goals of the game, leaving German to laud the character of his players. “For us to kick back into gear again in the last seven or eight minutes showed a bit about the playing group,” he said.
The Seagulls had the luxury of multiple avenues to goal. Zephaniah Skinner and Andrew Hooper led the way with three apiece, while McNamara and Tom Hill each snared two.
Ruckman and resting forward Tom Campbell took another step forward in his development and continues to be one of the more consistent Seagulls players.
The Seagulls are primed for a western derby with Werribee Tigers at Avalon Airport Oval on Sunday. It will be a toss-of-the-coin affair with both clubs striking hot form in the past fortnight after sketchy starts.
VFL SCOREBOARD
Seniors: Sandringham 11.16 (82) lt Williamstown 15.11 (101). Williamstown: Goals: Z. Skinner 3, A. Hooper 3, J. McNamara 2, T. Hill 2, A. Greenwood, M. Cravino, B. Jolley, J. Redpath, T. Dickson. Best: S. Witkowski, J. McNamara, T. Campbell, J. Wall, B. Jolley.
Development: Sandringham 16.10 (106) lt Williamstown 20.10 (130). Williamstown: Goals: D. Conway 6, K. McHarg 4, A. Anastasio 3, J. Mead 2, R. Ball, J. Wallace, N. Georgiadis, J. Polizzi, J. Gray. Best: K. McHarg, J. Morris, D. Conway, H. Hector, A. Anastasio, J. Charleston.
