Williamstown have jumped four spots on the Peter Jackson VFL Ladder after causing an upset win against top of the table rival Port Melbourne as Brendan Lucas reports.
The Seagulls have moved from ninth to fifth, and are continuing their late season push into the top eight.
It was captain Ben Jolley’s 150th game for the Seagulls who put in a solid performance (with 32 disposals), whilst Borough coach Gary Ayres was also celebrating his 100th game as a VFL coach at Port.
Both sides managed only four goals for the first term and five goals for the half, as muddy and wet conditions made it difficult in the scrappy, low-scoring affair.
James Wall set the scene early with a big bump on Sam Pleming causing the Borough backman to leave the field early under the blood rule.
Matt Panos and Tom Hill provided the key targets up forward for the Seagulls, but from the opening bounce it was clear it would not be their day to shine.
As the game wore on, jumpers were fading and fatigue began to set in as crucial moments changed the game.
Justin Sherman’s goal at the 23-minute mark of the second term brought the margin to just three-points at half time.
Sherman was proving a key to the Seagulls’ hopes with a goal from the boundary line in the opening minutes of the third term putting his side in front.
As the sun peeked out from the clouds, Tom Langford gained a spark of energy to turn the tide back in the Boroughs’ favour at the 7-minute mark.
He then followed up with another only minutes later to stretch the Borough lead to 14-points.
At three quarter time, everything was on the line, as both coaches fired up their sides.
The Borough had their nose in front in key areas leading inside 50 entries 10-7 and the clearances 7-6. Both would prove crucial to the outcome of the game.
The Seagulls were desperate to launch themselves into the eight, as Andrew Hooper dealt the first blow to the Borough with a goal to start the final term.
Hunger and determination continued to show as one goal became two-in-a-row through Dylan Addison.
At the 20-minute mark, a kick off the deck from Justin Sherman tipped the margin in the Seagulls’ favour as Dylan Addison marked and kicked his second.
Sherman capped off the 11-point win and a near best on ground performance with his third at the 27-minute mark to put the game beyond reach from the Borough who had no answers.
Coach Peter German said crucial moments won it for his side, but admitted the game could have gone either way.
“Everyone stuck to their task. We went into it with a mindset of looking at four or five of their key players,” he said.
“One of the main messages I told our players in the last quarter is to drive in hard at the ball and gather forward momentum with the ball, and they did that.”
“In the end the boys just dug deep, and I thought for the first time for a while the footy God’s actually smiled at us, but you make your own luck.”
He said Justin Sherman played a key role creating some of their good fortune.
“Shermo [Sherman] was outstanding. It was just some of his simple things like his ability just to soccer the ball forward in key moments and control the ball that was terrific.”
Williamstown 7.14 (56) def Port Melbourne 6.9 (45)
Photo: Damian Visentini
Last Modified on 31/07/2012 07:56