The Seagulls were nowhere in sight at TEAC Oval on Saturday, as Port’s Patrick Rose kicked five goals to help the Borough to a convincing 51-point win in wet conditions, to consolidate his side as flag favourites. Brendan Lucas reports.
Despite it being another top of the table clash for Port Melbourne, from start to finish it looked far from it. The Borough showed all the class, with their disposal in the wet proving the better.
Midfielder Shane Valenti - who has been prolific in his sides’ ascendency - had his season come to an abrupt halt, suffering a possible fractured ankle in the first five minutes of the second term.
However, this did not stop the Borough whose midfield drive through the likes of Ryan McMahon and Nathan Batsanis proved themselves as worthy counterparts.
Williamstown offered little resistance to the hard running of Port, as coach Peter German gave the players a spray at quarter time, crucifying their poor decision-making and lack of pressure.
Despite a noticeable lift in intensity by the Seagulls early in the second term, their inability to damage the scoreboard saw the Boroughs kick away with 11 goals in the first half to Williamstown’s two.
Notable contributions from Port forward Patrick Rose and Myles Pitt with three each in the first half provided much of the scoreboard pressure for the Borough.
A highly contested third quarter saw Williamstown attempt to reduce the 49-point deficit after the half to no avail, managing just one goal through Western Bulldogs listed AFL rookie Luke Dahlhaus who was competitive all day. Rose went on to kick his final two goals for Port to round out the quarter.
By the final change, the game was all but lost, as three last quarter consolation goals to Williamstown provided no solution, after such a highly anticipated game they looked lacking in desire to match Port.
After the game, Gary Ayres was very pleased with his side’s four-quarter performance, praising the strong level of intensity and all round effort from the playing group.
“The conditions were always going to be very tough for both sides because the ground became pretty heavy from the water, and we were about pressing hard, and doing it early, and I thought we achieved that.
“We had to mix and match a little bit when [Shane] went down, but the beauty of playing 22 is it just gives you an opportunity to do that.
“Lynch has improved, Batsanis has improved, Bentick, Marc Johnston, Hugh Sandilands, Jake Edwards has been rock solid down in defense, Purcell has been good, it is all about an all round effort,” Ayres said.
“That’s the group that I’ve got here, they are very coachable and you can see the way they play for themselves and this football club, you can never question what they do.”
Asked about whether he believed Port Melbourne could win a premiership this season Ayres simply said, “premierships are not won in May.”
Port Melbourne will travel to Windy Hill to face the Bendigo Bombers this week, whilst Williamstown will take on Collingwood at Victoria Park.
(Photo by Ken Irwin)
Last Modified on 16/05/2011 10:02