Saturday’s ABC TV match between Williamstown and Box Hill promises to be an intriguing contest with potential top four implications, as Adem Saricaoglu previews the game.
The Seagulls will make their long-awaited return to Burbank Oval after its redevelopment, while the Hawks will be coming off a two-week layoff.
Williamstown sits fifth on the ladder and could leapfrog Werribee (who have a bye) with a win, but its inferior percentage means the Seagulls must win by a massive margin to do so.
The Hawks sit one spot below Williamstown and will overtake the Seagulls if they win.
Williamstown coach Peter German said his side has identified the areas it needs to improve on after its tough loss to Bendigo last week, and says he’s expecting Box Hill to produce quality football on Saturday.
“You always know when you play Box Hill it’s going to be a high work rate game,” German said.
“The way they play, the way they use the ball, they’re a high kicking side, run really hard and players off the ball work really hard to be options, so we just know that regardless if they’ve had byes or not they’re going to play a highly demanding game of football.”
When asked what the key is to stop Box Hill’s style of play, German said the defensive aspects of Williamstown’s game won’t change too much, and the focus will still be pressuring the ball carrier.
“We try to do that on a weekly basis, but it’s just the way that they use the ball.
“If you do give them a lot of time and space with the ball, their foot skills are very good, so they can hurt you.”
Box Hill’s two-week hiatus was a turbulent one with Broc McCauley and Daniel Hughes both sustaining injuries in practise matches, but coach Damian Carroll says the new-look side that will play on Saturday is ready to go.
“We obviously had to do some competitive stuff in the last two weeks and unfortunately we lost a couple,” Carroll said.
“That wasn’t ideal but we think we’ve replaced them with some young guys that are pretty hungry about coming in and getting an opportunity, so I think our preparation in the last couple of weeks has been good.”
Carroll said his side needs to be on top of its game to beat Williamstown.
“They’re a very quick side and like to move the ball quickly,” he said.
“We’ve certainly got to try and stop them at the source, stop them at the contest and win our fair share of the footy and give our forwards enough opportunities to kick a winning score.
“We won’t be able to be too effective if we don’t get our hands on the footy.”
The game kicks off at 1:10pm.
Last Modified on 08/06/2012 16:02