It’s fair to say there’s always a fair degree of niggle whenever Williamstown plays Werribee.
The two traditional western suburb clubs don’t particularly like each other for a raft of reasons, particularly with recruiting or as each club may say poaching of players, dating back over the decades.
Now they square off in a Semi Final, which will consign one of them to its season end.
Williamstown will be ruing lost opportunities last week against Footscray at a wind-swept Victorian University Whitten Oval.
With a strong wind at its back that had resulted in 17 of the game’s 19-goals in the first three quarters, Williamstown kicked two goals, but coughed up three to Footscray in the last quarter.
It was a defeat that now means Williamstown must win two games to make it into the Grand Final.
Williamstown faces a gritty Werribee, who climbed off the canvas to defeat North Ballarat in an ugly, scrappy affair.
Whenever North Ballarat appeared set to mount a challenge, Werribee with just three North Melbourne listed/rookie players found the necessary resolve.
Werribee players stuck fast, even when captain Jared Moore was taken off in the first quarter after receiving a heavy knock to the head.
Werribee are likely to have some important North Melbourne listed player inclusions for the match against Williamstown, but they will need to as this promises to be a take-no-prisoners affair.
Williamstown posted a nine-point victory in its only encounter against Werribee this season, although with nine more scoring shots the Seagulls should have won by more. It was Williamstown’s 11th straight win against Werribee, a run that the Tigers will be hoping to end this weekend.
Each club has its prime movers, players that provide the spark that ignites teammates.
Seagulls’ captain Ben Jolley, ex-Werribee player Scott Clouston and former Northern Blues trio Adam Marcon, Kane Lambert and Nick Meese are pivotal to Williamstown’s chances.
Werribee will be hoping that Moore will play and that ruck man Daniel Currie, Jamie MacMillan and Mason Wood, who were all elevated to North Melbourne’s team when they decided to rest several players, will come back into the team.
Wood was absent in the Round 9 clash and would be a welcome inclusion up forward for the Tigers.
North Melbourne’s Scott McMahon, outstanding against North Ballarat as he played a loose man role, another player Werribee will look to help keep the dream alive.
Werribee will need everything to fall in its favour as Williamstown may just have an edge in the midfield.
WHERE: Nort Port Oval, Port Melbourne
WHEN: Sunday September 7, 2:10pm
COVERAGE: ABC TV & VFL Radio
Photo: Arj Giese
Last Modified on 05/09/2014 12:23