This Saturday present’s a must see spectacle between two sides that are not only looking to power their way into the Peter Jackson VFL Grand Final, but also earn pride for their Club’s which share such a rich history.
The Preliminary Final between Port Melbourne and the Williamstown Seagulls is a replay of the 2011 Grand Final and brings about the 239th time these two teams have met, making it the longest rivalry in the competition to date.
2011 saw the Port Melbourne finish as Premier’s with a record making undefeated season. However, the Club experienced an unnerving turnover of players at year’s end and now dons a very different looking team sheet. None the less, the side has had a successful season and coach Gary Ayres believes that the loss of former players has provided an opportunity for others to grow with expectation on their shoulders.
“We have had a lot of change in 12 months which is exciting and we had nine players who played against Geelong (Qualifying Final) who did not play in the finals in 2011. Mitch Woffindin has shown great improvement in 2012 along with Heath O’Farrell, Bill Burstin, Clay Johnston, Dan Noonan, Josh Scipione and this year we have had the added bonus of Adrian Bonaddio and Adam Bentick both playing more games than last year.”
Port Melbourne has been able to reap the rewards of a week off after defeating Geelong in their first Qualifying Final. They have made the most of this time and should enter the match with fresh legs.
“The only change we made to our schedule was to put an extra session in on Saturday and that was primarily match simulation work. The early part of the week was recovery as it was a very hard game physically against Geelong.”
The Borough and the Seagulls sit at one win a piece this year in their head to head battles, with Williamstown running away with an 11 point victory in Round 18 and Port Melbourne dominating in Round 7 to win by 80 points.
Ayres believes this battle will be vastly different and could be determined by the strength of Williamstown’s VFL listed players.
“What I have learnt is that there is very little between the sides and we have both won our home games and both were played in very wet and heavy conditions. Both sides look to be somewhat different this week with the addition of players that did not play last time such as Gale, Dwyer, Bentick, Dillon, Bonaddio, Woffindin and O’Farrell. Williamstown may not have as many AFL listed players but have had a very impressive two months of football especially by some of their younger players and Peter German would be very happy with their development,” Ayres said.
Williamstown Football & Development Manager, Chris Dixon has the same impression as Ayres and has seen positive signs with the improvement made by his side.
“The two games were played in conditions that we’re probably not going to see on Saturday so there’s probably not too much we can take out of it. I think the second time around at home our players showed real improvement from the first outing against Port Melbourne. Port had a few quality players out that day though so there’s certainly some improvement in their line up.”
Williamstown have shown great strength across their backline in recent weeks. Jack Frost as an individual has illustrated his ability to be able to nullify his opponents, with only a single goal being kicked against him during the finals.
“Jack’s progressed really well for us since stepping up to the Senior Side. He had two hip operations over the pre-season so we always knew he would take a while to get going this season, but ever since coming in he has been fantastic for us. He’s been well supported down there by Cameron Lockwood, Stephen Witkowski, Nick Sing and Jack Charleston who have been solid for us over the past month.”
Dixon has been pleased by the depth that the Williamstown team has demonstrated towards the end of the season and during the finals.
“It’s hard to single out anyone as we’ve been pretty impressed by all of them. I guess the younger kids like Charleston, Frost, Bugeja and Witkowski have really handled the finals intensity well. At the same time it’s been great to see our older heads like Ben Jolley, Brett Goodes, Lockwood, James Wall and Jamie McNamara really set the tone, and guide our younger players.”
Like Port Melbourne, Williamstown will be fielding a vastly different side to last year’s season decider, but the new group wants the Borough’s scalp just as much as ever.
“There are only four players who played in that 2011 Grand Final side actually playing for us. Obviously every time Williamstown plays Port Melbourne it’s going to be a big occasion because of the history of the Clubs, but we’re talking about a completely different side to last year. A spot in the Grand Final is enough motivation for our group without needing to draw on what happened last year,” Dixon said.
Tune into ABC1 this Saturday for a live broadcast of the match from 2pm.
If going to the game at North Port Oval entry prices are as follows:
Lead Up Finals (Sept 1 - 16)
Adults: $15
Pensioners/Concession: $10
Kids 15 & under: Free
Last Modified on 14/09/2012 21:04