IN the battle of traditional rivals, Williamstown turned their recent form against Port Melbourne on its head with a commanding victory, bumping the Borough from the finals.
After more than 120 years of intense rivalry, never take anything for granted when Williamstown and Port Melbourne lock horns.
And, so it was the case when Williamstown inflicted one of the most severe beatings in recent times on its old foe in last week’s Semi Final.
Several aspects made Williamstown’s 87-point annihilation impossible to read.
For openers, it was Port Melbourne which had humbled Williamstown in its previous two meetings during the home and away season.
In fact, at its last meeting, on a cold, wet, wintry day in late July, Port Melbourne held Williamstown to two goals and just a handful of behinds after quarter-time.
Port Melbourne entered the Semi Final on a high after a strong win against Collingwood while Williamstown squandered numerous chances with poor ball use against Box Hill Hawks in a Qualifying Final.
What appeared to make the Seagulls prospects even more daunting was that Western Bulldogs put in ‘cotton wool’ several players – Lachlan Hunter and Jarred Grant - that were eligible to play in the VFL finals.
And, Port Melbourne was hosting the match at the North Port Oval, which has been fortress-like during coach Gary Ayres’ reign.
Veteran Daniel Cross, one of four players dumped by the Western Bulldogs earlier in the week, did not to play.
To the credit of Lukas Markovic and Patrick Veszpremi, other players axed by the Bulldogs, they both honored their commitment and made solid contributions to Williamstown’s massive win.
Against such a backdrop, Williamstown jumped a lethargic Port Melbourne from the get go and it was apparent very early that the Borough’s season was over.
Williamstown, with Jason Tutt, Veszpremi, Anthony Anastasio and Ben Casley combining for 15 goals, made Port Melbourne look inept.
The Seagulls opened with a flurry of goals and by quarter time the Borough was staring at a 33-point deficit.
Any thoughts of a signature Port Melbourne fighting comeback was quashed as Williamstown, led by captain Ben Jolley, Willie Wheeler, Jack Johnstone and Cam Lockwood, increased its lead to 50-points at half time.
Whatever Ayres said to his players at half time obviously fell on deaf ears as Port Melbourne was in season-over mode in the third quarter.
Williamstown embarrassed Port Melbourne with a 12 goal quarter, its biggest single quarter return for the season. The Borough added four goals, but the brutality of the situation was that Port Melbourne was looking at possible 100-point drubbing as the last quarter began.
In what effectively was junk time, Port Melbourne added eight goals to save the ignominy of a 100-point loss, although little solace could be gained by an 87-point defeat on such a big stage.
And, against a club that it usually rises to the challenge for.
Photo: Dave Savell
Last Modified on 10/09/2013 17:00