The Werribee Tigers missed a serious opportunity to press for a top four spot they went down to Williamstown at Avalon Airport Oval last Sunday, as Ben Carbonaro reports.
Coming off their second bye of the year, the Tigers were hoping to play consistent football against a Seagulls team that has proven itself to be a real premiership contender with just two losses in 2011.
Neither team could assert their dominance early, as cold and wet conditions wreaked havoc with ball movement around the ground. Williamstown were able to get the ball moving forward to kick four goals to Werribee’s one, but neither side were accurate in front of goal. Despite the inaccuracies displayed by both teams, the Seagulls led by 19 points at quarter time.
It was even on the scoreboard as both teams kicked four goals for the quarter, but it wasn’t a reflection of Williamstown’s ability to win the ball at stoppages and get it moving quickly. Several costly turnovers and poor decision making made the going tough for Werribee. The Seagulls were rewarded with a handy 25-point lead at the main break.
The Tigers showed some third quarter improvement and despite trailing by 27 point at the final break, there were signs that a win over their traditional rivals was a possibility.
Coach Paul Satterley asked his charges to really work hard in the final quarter and they did as they kicked three goals in five minutes. Sean Tighe (2 goals) and North Melbourne listed forward Ben McKinley sparked the Tigers revival, but Williamstown’s experienced shone through in the end.
Satterley was disappointed with the result and how his team gave Williamstown a start in the first quarter.
“I thought at one stage there we felt we had no ascendency and no momentum at all, I think we can take out of it that we stuck to the task,” he said.
“At times it seemed to be going their way a bit, but you have to make your own momentum and to give a side of that quality (a start) it was always hard to peg them back.”
Sean Tighe has become a consistent performer at senior level for the Tigers, proving it with three valuable goals.
“He’s someone we keep talking about who’s got heaps of scope for improvement and it looked like he was going to turn the game on its head at one stage,” Satterley said.
A former Western Jets player, Tighe finished with three goals in another consistent game playing as a tall forward and Ben Sharp (31 disposals) had an outstanding game a member of Werribee’s on ball brigade. Draft prospect Matt O’Dwyer (21 disposals) provided plenty of drive off the back half, while small forward Jarrod Mather and defender Rhyce Prismall also impressed.
Western Bulldogs listed tall Jordan Roughead and Josh Hill kicked three goals each for the Seagulls, while Ben Jolley (32 disposals) had a commanding presence all over the ground.
Werribee travels to Trevor Barker Beach Oval for a clash against an inconsistent Sandringham this Sunday and Williamstown face North Ballarat at Eureka Stadium on Saturday.
Last Modified on 26/07/2011 21:43