WILLIAMSTOWN came back from the brink to produce one of its more remarkable final-term fightbacks and force an unlikely draw with shellshocked Frankston Dolphins in the Victorian Football League at Frankston Oval on Saturday.
Ten minutes into the final term, the Seagulls trailed by what appeared to be an irreversible 41 points before piling on the last six goals of the match on the back of 11 unanswered scoring shots to leave the scoreboard locked up at 92-apiece at the final siren.
If you thought the Seagulls were happy with their comeback, think again.
Seagulls football manager Chris Dixon said the coaches would be running the microscope over what led to them getting into the dire situation in the first place.
“A few of them stepped up late and put on a fight. You can’t expect to play for 15 minutes to get a win. It’s frustrating we couldn’t do that in the first three-and-a-half quarters.”
The draw snapped a two-game losing streak for the Seagulls. It wasn’t the desired result but one that was gleefully accepted when considering their disastrous predicament early in the last term.
“Two points is better than none,” Dixon said. “If you had’ve offered us two points 10 minutes into the last quarter, we would’ve laughed and taken it.” Dixon says his side dominated the last 17 minutes because they were willing to take the game on and cleaned up the skill errors that had plagued them throughout the game.
Goal sneak Justin Sherman completed the comeback with a long standing-start goal pressed up on the boundary.
Tom Campbell dominated in the ruck and aerially around the ground to further stake his claim for an elevation from the Western Bulldogs’ rookie list to its primary list.
Campbell’s day was cut short when he began cramping up in the last quarter, but the Seagulls threw defender Stephen Witkowski, who has been used as a ruckman in the development league, as a pinch hit ruck and he offered first use with his sheer desire to compete at every stoppage.
Nathan Djerrkura, James Wall and captain Ben Jolley eventually got on top in the midfield.
Matthew Panos’s four goals were important.
The Seagulls now get a fortnight to mull over their deficiencies in a game they would have pencilled in for a win. They can’t get too comfortable with a rapidly improving North Ballarat lurking after the break.
