Bendigo will host Williamstown in this weekend’s ABC TV match of the round.
Playing at Windy Hill for the first time this season, the Gold will be hoping to string two wins in a row together – a feat they have been unable to achieve so far in 2012.
Their opponents Williamstown will be hard to beat, sitting two games above them on the ladder, and coming off a strong win against Coburg in round nine.
The round nine win helped the confidence of the Seagulls, coming off defeats to Port Melbourne and South Adelaide in the Foxtel Cup.
“I think our playing group was really keen to bounce back after a couple of losses, you could see our intent was strong early on and to kick 8 goals in the first quarter was pleasing,” Williamstown Football and Development Manager Chris Dixon said.
“Coming up against three big Richmond listed ruckman was going to be a big task especially as we had no specialist ruckman playing. The effort James Wall put in was outstanding in the ruck and really helped us to nullify their bigger bodies. Anthony Anastasio kicking 5 goals on debut was also very pleasing to see.”
Bendigo too built confidence from their round nine encounter with Collingwood. The Magpies were the giant killers the week prior, bringing to an end Port Melbourne’s 28 wins on the trot, but the Gold were able to record only their third win of the season, running out the game the stronger of the two sides.
“It defiantly was a confidence building win over Collingwood, considering we had lost the previous three games. We moved the ball quicker than previous weeks and we defended better,” Bendigo Gold coach Hayden Skipworth said.
“Also, having Pears, Colyer and Gumbleton come back into the team always helps.”
“Our form has been inconsistent. It would be nice to settle the team down, we have had a minimum of 4 changes each week.”
Skipworth knows that a win against a top four team like Williamstown would get his side right back in the finals mix early in the season, but a loss would open the door to their eighth spot on the ladder to the likes of Coburg, Collingwood and North Ballart.
“Williamstown are a very good team and we are going to have to be at our best to beat them.
“Our focus this weekend will be around how we move the ball and how we defend the ground. We will also try to minimise some of the output from some of their key players.”
Williamstown has seen a number of new players blooded into the senior side in recent weeks, showing reward for the Development League form. The debut of Anastasio was impressive, but he has not been the only player to gain his opportunity for the Seagulls.
“There’s been a number of younger players such as Anastasio, Conway and McHarg who have got their chance in the last couple of weeks and it’s been pleasing they’ve come in and had an impact,” Dixon said.
“Obviously Anastasio got most of the headlines last week because of his 5 goals, but we were also happy that Dylan Conway and Kwame McHarg were able to continue their strong form from the Development League.
“Our Development side is 8-0 and we have a number of players pushing for Senior selection which is healthy for the Club.”
Dixon knows that Bendigo’s form has been reflective of injuries received by Essendon this season, but is aware of their strong VFL list,
“Over the past few weeks though they have got some players back from injury and have played some impressive football. We know they have some very quality VFL listed players such as Duscher, Little, Shinners, Ladson and Maddern so we’re looking forward to a tight contest at Windy Hill.”
Last Modified on 01/06/2012 13:13