The first nine rounds of the VFL season have certainly thrown a few surprises into the mix but the form of Williamstown is not one of them. Looking to make amends for last year’s Preliminary Final shock loss to the Northern Bullants, the Seagulls have started the 2011 season with a bang, winning all but one of their seven matches. Given their sole loss came against the all-conquering Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval, it’s fair to say Williamstown are more than worthy of being considered true finals, if not premiership, contenders.
Anna Harrington looks at the Seagulls season so far.
Why are they winning?
The Seagulls have maintained a very solid VFL list whilst simultaneously benefiting from the support of a talented group of players from AFL affiliate Western Bulldogs. They have kept their approach relatively simple, often playing a man-on-man defence and kicking their goals from a variety of sources. Bulldog Mitch Hahn may lead their goal kicking with 19, but Brett Goodes, Andrew Hooper, Will Minson and Matthew Panos have all kicked eight or more goals for the season - tallies demonstrating the team’s ability to spread the scoring load.
Players
Former Essendon rookie Ben Jolley has starred for the Seagulls this year, named in the best four times alongside fellow hard nut and Bulldogs first year player Mitch Wallis. Stalwarts Goodes and Hahn have helped provide experience and strength in a relatively young side, while captain Brett Johnson continues to lead from the front. While Barry Hall’s presence up forward may have settled the Seagulls against a Collingwood side which broke even for most of the game, such cameos will be a rare luxury for the side, though well-performing youngsters such as Hooper and Luke Dahlhaus are likely to remain near-permanent fixtures in the side.
From the coach
Despite the solid start to the season, coach Peter German believes his side have only shown a fraction of what they are capable of. Despite going in as favourites in the game against Collingwood, the Seagulls were unable to break away until the final quarter.
“We’re probably only probably playing at about five or six out of ten at the moment,” German said following the Victoria Park clash.
“Basically right across the board we need to keep improving.”
Given the nature sometimes of AFL affiliations, the Seagulls have become used to constantly rotating personnel. With the Bulldogs currently struggling, the changes could become ever more frequent as players are called into the AFL side, German conceding it was hard to know week-to-week how the team could change.
“The whole structure of our team could change, and it does, it changes almost from week to week,” German said.
“So that we don’t have much control over, but we’re just going to keep focussing on just our skills, our structure work – everything we can continue to do – so nothing will really change.”
The key to Williamstown’s fortunes will lie in their ability to develop consistency, which last year was the hallmark of a dominant home and away season. While they may have only lost one game, the Seagulls have at times struggled to assert themselves throughout a match, often relying on standout bursts to win matches.
“If we can get it together then that’s fine, I still think [we’ve] got upside but… [we’ve] probably shown some vulnerability at times,” German said.
“I’m… probably [still] comparing us a little bit to… the way we performed last year.
“We tended to play a lot more consistently over four quarters and from week to week than what we’ve done so far this year.”
The run home
Williamstown are set to benefit from a relatively smooth run home. Six of their final eleven games are at ‘home’, while their remaining three byes are evenly spaced throughout. Despite this week’s match against Casey Scorpions kicking off a run of tough games against finals contenders, the Seagulls will be eager to prove themselves against quality opposition.
So far, all but one of their wins so far have come against teams outside the top six, including the still winless Coburg and Geelong. The greatest tests of the season will come through the clash with the third-placed Northern Bullants, as well as an eagerly anticipated return match against the Borough. These games will be balanced out by two matches against the eleventh placed Frankston, who while breaking through for their first win on the weekend, may struggle to match the class of their AFL-listed opponents.
Overall a fairly balanced run home and one the Seagulls will need to make the most of if they are to assert themselves as realistic premiership contenders.
Last Modified on 25/05/2011 22:04