By Simon Dang
Williamstown have blitzed Sandringham in the final quarter of their clash to finish with an eight goal victory at Burbank Oval.
Things started off brightly for the Zebras with the Clarke brothers providing nice run through the midfield. The Seagulls were then inspired, though, by a piece of play early on that saw big man Wayde Skipper chase down Xavier Clarke from behind. The tackle sent shockwaves through the Zebras and Clarke, who sat out injured for the rest of the day as Willy took the game by the neck.
Typically, Ben Davies saw plenty of the ball while Jason Cloke and Chris Egan gave ZebraâÂÂs coach, Andy Lovell, a headache with their defesive rebounding. Sandy missed several opportunities and, as a result, saw themselves four goals behind at quarter time. The second quarter saw Sandy get back into the game as the two teams arm wrestled their way through.
Young Bulldog Brennan Stack broke the deadlock with a goal thanks to some ill-discipline from the Zebras but Sandy soon hit back with the VFL leading goalkicker Nicholas Sauntner as threatening as always. Led by former AFL player David Gallagher, the Zebras clawed their way to a 13 point deficit at half time.
The two teams came out after half time and shared the spoils. Willy had the better play but seemed to let Sandy back in the game with four goals against the run. Gallagher was again inspirational for the Zebras with two goals, one a goal square body on body mark. Heading into the final quarter, Sandy seemed to have a sniff of a comeback but that was quickly rectified as the Seagulls came out firing. Callan Ward, who had been somewhat quiet to this point, was an absolute ball magnet and although, Raph Clarke provided some respite for the Zebras with two goals, the Seagulls were clinical as their big names stepped up to the challenge.
Captain Brett Johnson, Sam Reid, Matt Little as well as Skipper and Ward scored majors as they raced away to a 48 point victory.
Next up, Willy face Frankston away at Frankston Park while Sandy will take on the Northern Bullants at home.
Williamstown 5.2 6.3 9.7 18.9 (117)
| Sandringham 1.2 3.5 7.6 10.9 (69)
GOALS:Williamstown: Little 5 Rose 2 Reid 2 Ward 2 Lockwood Galea O'Keefe Skipper Stack Cordy Grant
Sandringham: Gallagher 2 Clarke 2 Crowe 2 Sautner 2 Summers Stanley
BEST:Williamstown: Johnson Stretton Ward Little Cloke Skipper
Sandringham: Fisher Biddlecombe Simpkin Crowe Summers Armitage
REPORTED PLAYERS:Williamstown: Nil
Sandringham: Nil
Last Modified on 04/05/2009 14:34