The Williamstown Seagulls and the North Ballarat Roosters go head to head this Sunday for the second time this season, in what could pan out to be a very different result.
Round 4 saw the two teams battle it out at Eureka Stadium, with Williamstown teaching the Roosters a 52 point lesson. This would be North Ballarat’s third loss in four weeks and as a result shook the camp quite considerably.
Seagulls Football & Development Manager, Chris Dixon knows very well that this weekend will bring upon a distinctively different challenge.
“It was great to win up in Ballarat as it was something we hadn’t done for a long time. There are certainly some things we can take out of the game but we’re pretty mindful that we’ll be facing a pretty different Roosters side this week. They will be a much stronger side on paper and are in good form having won their last three games.”
Williamstown experienced their first official bye for the season last weekend after exiting the Foxtel Cup competition in May. The Seagulls finished premiers of the State vs State competition last year and therefore went without any breaks in the VFL season. This variation should hold them in good stead heading into future rounds.
“We had a bit of team challenge session on the Tuesday night down at Williamstown to give the boys a bit of a break. Having bye weeks is still pretty foreign to us after last year, so we’re still trying to work out what’s best for us.”
Williamstown are taking each week one at a time given the vulnerability of this year’s competition and thus the ladder.
“We’re certainly looking no further than this week against North Ballarat. It’s going to be a very important game for us against an opponent who we’ve had some great battles with over the past few years.
“North Ballarat are an extremely well organised side littered with talent across the ground so we know it’s going to be a great challenge. They’ve won their last three games and are pushing for a spot in the top 8 so it’s shaping up as a great contest,” Dixon said.
North Ballarat enters this match in a very positive frame of mind after being victorious in three consecutive games. Their on field performances are a far cry from their Round 4 loss to Williamstown, with the recent additions of Aaron Edwards, Paul McMahon and Aaron Black as strong forward targets.
Coach Gerard FitzGerald could pinpoint areas that demanded improvement from their Round 4 match.
“Looking back at the footage from the start of the season, we were not good enough defensively. Our work without the ball was just not good enough and it let us down.”
FitzGerald has seen vast progress in this area in recent rounds.
“In two out of the last three games we have either met or surpassed our defensive KPI’s. It is not a coincidence that we happened to win these games.”
North Ballarat currently sits in ninth place on the Peter Jackson VFL ladder. Their last few encounters have put them in a position full of possibilities.
“After beating Geelong, we looked ahead and saw that we had two home games in a row against what some would consider as weaker sides. We knew that if we could beat these teams then we would be in a position to push others down the ladder.”
“We now have a massive focus on Williamstown. A win against them would really shake the ladder up and hopefully give us a top eight spot,” FitzGerald said.
Williamstown Seagulls vs North Ballarat Roosters
Sunday 1st July – 2:00pm
Burbank Oval, Williamstown
Last Modified on 30/06/2012 19:46