It was a big day for Williamstown, finally returning to its beloved Burbank Oval after more than a year on the road, but Box Hill refused to go with the script, as Adem Saricaoglu reports.
The Hawks spoiled the party with a hard-fought six-point win in drizzly conditions that provided for a dogged, yet thrilling contest.
Amos Frank delighted a handful of Box Hill fans with four quality goals that were the highlight of the game, while at the other end Williamstown’s Andrew Hooper kicked four of his own.
A steady three goal breeze to the city end dictated scoring for most of the day, and it was Box Hill who took better advantage of it in the second and fourth quarters.
Williamstown controlled the start of the game, keeping the ball in their half of the ground and establishing a 26-point lead by quarter time.
However the Hawks returned the favour to Williamstown in the second term, locking the ball in their forward half and stringing together six unanswered goals that gave Box Hill a 10-point buffer going into the main break.
It took the Seagulls 10 minutes to regain the lead in third quarter, after a 50-metre penalty brought Jamie McNamara to the goal-square for an easy finish.
The rain stopped halfway through the quarter before Hooper kicked his third goal to stretch Williamstown’s lead to 10.
Shortly before three-quarter time Box Hill lost skipper Daniel Pratt after he was concussed in a contest at half-forward and was stretchered off the field.
At the final change Williamstown’s lead was a tenuous five points, but the breeze that had held true for the entire game up to that point had weakened significantly.
A free kick to Hooper in the goal-square three minutes into the last term gave the Seagulls a handy 10-point buffer, and more importantly some momentum.
The parochial Williamstown crowd rose as one when Christian Howard slotted his second goal from the pocket 10 minutes in, setting the tone for what turned out to be a grandstand final stanza.
Hawk Xavier Murphy replied with his second two minutes later before the ball landed in the lap of Williamstown’s Jack Redpath, who turned and snapped for goal unconvincingly, yet successfully.
As time-on approached, Frank and fellow small Derick Wanganeen started to turn the game on its head.
After Frank sharked the ball and kicked his third to bring Box Hill back within a kick, he became the most dangerous player on the ground.
A point off his boot levelled the scores before Wanganeen put the Hawks in front at the 23-minute mark.
With remarkable poise, Frank then gathered the ball, wheeled onto his left and slotted his fourth to seemingly ice the game.
But the homecoming Seagulls weren’t done yet.
Spurred by the crowd, Williamstown continued to press and managed to bring the game back within a kick when Brodie Moles goaled.
The rain returned as Williamstown continued to win the footy, but staunch defending from Box Hill didn’t allow the Seagulls to penetrate for a chance to level the game, eventually holding out until the final siren.
Box Hill coach Damian Carroll was buoyant after the game.
“I’m really proud of the boys’ efforts. I think it was certainly one of our better performances in the couple of years I’ve been at the club,” Carroll said.
“We showed a lot of fight and spirit and we knew it would go down to the wire, they don’t just give out four points here at Willi.
“They were tremendous in showing character because it got out to 10 points or so and it looked like they were going to get the next goal and run away with it but we were able to find something and respond.”
Carroll said he was particularly proud of his side’s response after Pratt’s exit from the game, as well as Frank’s efforts to lift his team when the game was on the line.
“Certainly from our perspective we were happy with the contribution of most today, and particularly when things got hard and tough in that last 40 minutes,” he said.
“The thing about Amos is if he’s playing well he brings excitement to the team.
“I think that was really important in that last stanza, when Williamstown had the crowd behind them. But we had Amos and he was giving us energy.
“He can certainly do things on the footy ground that others struggle to do.”
Williamstown coach Peter German concurred with Carroll’s thoughts about Frank’s influence late in the game.
“Take your chances in the conditions, that’s what it comes down to,” German said.
“It’s probably see-sawed all game and Frank was terrific in the end kicking some of those goals.”
When asked if Williamstown is a good wet weather team, German was blunt.
“No, not at all,” he said.
“We were cracking in, we were hard at it (but) I just think that we don’t adapt quickly enough with our ball use in the wet.”
The win put Box Hill into fifth spot on the ladder, while Williamstown sunk to seventh.
Last Modified on 11/06/2012 09:28