Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

[ledge]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Cordy didnt get near it today.

[comrade]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Cordy didnt get near it today.

He struggled. I didn't think Will was that good, to be honest and was shaded by Deluca.

[LostDoggy]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Goals- Grant 4, Vez 3, Hooper 2, Barlow 2, Hahn 2, Gilbee, Goodes, Panos
Best- Minson, Rampe, Stretton, Johnson, Veszpremi

Johnson? He was horrible, him and Jolley's drop off today was a big reason we battled.
Tutt was definitely better and Grant's 1st and 4th quarters probably could have squeezed him in

[Greystache]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Just to clarify, those bests were the official beards.

[comrade]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Just to clarify, those bests were the official beards.

Yep, understood. They never make sense.

[G-Mo77]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Johnson played an utterly shite game. Tutt was clearly in the top 5 players for Willy.

Thought he was very good as well. A lot of players were in and out of the contest but he was one who put 4 good quarters together.

I thought Barlow was pretty good today as well.

Big call but I think Willy may beat Port if they face off in a GF.

[Greystache]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Gutsy Seagulls fall short in Classic

A determined Williamstown side has fallen just short of beating Port Melbourne for the first time this year, going down by 5 points at Werribee on Saturday. The Seagulls were down by 3 goals with less than 5 minutes to play, but two quick goals from Hahn and Goodes brought the margin back to 5 points. When a Brett Goodes snap appeared goal bound the unimaginable was happening, however the shot faded late the wrong side of the post and Port Melbourne held on to win a thriller. The match was a great showpiece for VFL football and will give Williamstown supporters confidence to believe their team can match it with the runaway league leaders in September.

Williamstown, coming off a trip to Perth last week for the Foxtel Cup Grand Final brought in the likes of Jarrad Grant, Will Minson, Lindsay Gilbee and Mitch Hahn, while Matthew Cravino was rewarded for his first senior game of the year. Despite travelling back from Perth it was the Seagulls who came out of the blocks the stronger, with incredible forward pressure and tackling all over the ground. Jarrad Grant was lively early up forward as were the likes of Andrew Hooper and Patrick Veszpremi as the Gulls slammed through 7 goals to take a 27 point lead at the first change. Poor kicking for goal prevented the margin being greater, as did allowing Port Melbourne to score 2 goals from free kicks down the other end.

Port Melbourne hit back in the second quarter, no doubt still coming to the grips with the Seagulls onslaught in the first term. The likes of Dwyer, Valenti and Francis were winning more of the football in the middle and despite the efforts of Dane Rampe and Ayce Cordy down back it was Port Melbourne who swung the momentum their way, kicking 4 goals to 1 to bring the margin back to 8 points at the main change.

The third quarter saw Port Melbourne really get on top of the home side with poor disposal efficiency hurting the Seagulls and causing turnovers. Brett Johnson was trying everything in the middle to will his side forward but a lack of quality delivery into the forward 50 allowed the Port Melbourne defence to pick off many attacks. Will Minson was dominant in the ruck and worked hard all day to gather in 50 hit outs but it was the Borough who kicked 7 goals in the quarter to take the margin to 24 points late. A goal to Lindsay Gilbee at the end of the term brought the margin back to 18 points at the change, and gave the Gulls some hope of a final quarter comeback.

Many expected the Seagulls to fade having come back from Perth but with all to play for the Gulls took the game on through hard running and quick ball movement. In what was a pulsating final quarter Port Melbourne appeared to have it won on several occasions only for Williamstown to hit back and keep their noses in it. At the 30 minute mark the margin was 3 goals but when Mitch Hahn and Brett Goodes kicked 2 in 3 minutes it was game on. In a frantic finish Brett Goodes had another snap at goal that would have sent the home crowd wild, but despite it appearing to head straight for goal it faded late much to the disappointing of the Seagulls supporters. Port Melbourne were able to retain possession for the final few seconds and the siren sounded with Port Melbourne continuing their unbeaten streak in 2011. Williamstown will be heartened by the improved performance and gain some belief that come finals time they have the chance to turn the tables.

Williamstown 7.7 8.10 11.12 16.18 (114)

Port Melbourne 3.4 7.8 14.12 17.17 (119)

GOALS: Williamstown: Grant 4 Veszpremi 3 Barlow 2 Hahn 2 Hooper 2 Panos Gilbee Goodes

BEST: Williamstown: Minson Rampe Stretton Johnson Veszpremi Cordy

Development Report:

Williamstown has continued their good form at Development level beating another title contender in Port Melbourne by 55 points. A poor last quarter prevented the margin from being greater as the Gulls produced a dominant performance with many contributors. Ed Carr responded tremendously from his demotion from the Senior side to be best on ground, while Tom Hill kicked 6 goals up forward in his second game back from injury. Others to impress were Jake Wilson and Lee Spiteri down back, and Sam Caruso, Dylan Conway and Dion Lawson through midfield and half forward.

Williamstown 3.1 8.1 16.3 21.8 (135) Port Melbourne 1.1 3.5 5.7 12.8 (80)

GOALS: Williamstown: Hill 6 Conway 5 Carr 2 Grossman 2 Purton-Smith Lawson Lockwood Ryan Mason Hoghton

BEST: Williamstown: Carr Hill Spiteri Wilson Caruso Giles

[Greystache]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Tom Hill with 6 in the reserves is a positive, he's played some good footy between injuries.

[SlimPickens]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Tom Hill with 6 in the reserves is a positive, he's played some good footy between injuries.

Hopefully gets a run at senior level, with Grant and Vez possible ins for the dogs would be the oppurtune time to play Hill a FF for Willy. Looks an ok prospect, certainly has some size about him

[LostDoggy]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Has Vez done enough? He seems to be tearing it up down there.. surely he can't be that far off the pace at AFL level. Heck, throw him on as a sub if we're that worried about his tank.

[Greystache]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

Hopefully gets a run at senior level, with Grant and Vez possible ins for the dogs would be the oppurtune time to play Hill a FF for Willy. Looks an ok prospect, certainly has some size about him

It'll depend I suppose who goes up and who comes down. Willi may not want experiment this late in the season, but being on our senior list might mean the Bulldogs push a bit harder for him to get a call up.

Has Vez done enough? He seems to be tearing it up down there.. surely he can't be that far off the pace at AFL level. Heck, throw him on as a sub if we're that worried about his tank.

He has for me, but I'm not sure performance alone is the criteria for selection. If he doesn't get a call up this week then he should be worried if our current MC is still in charge next year. As a side note, he looks like he's shed a couple of KG's since the season began.

[SlimPickens]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

He has for me, but I'm not sure performance alone is the criteria for selection. If he doesn't get a call up this week then he should be worried if our current MC is still in charge next year. As a side note, he looks like he's shed a couple of KG's since the season began.

He certainly looked a lot slimmer on Saturday, which is a positive. Early on he gapped his opponent on the lead also which at AFL level i'm sure he can do.

[Go_Dogs]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

He certainly looked a lot slimmer on Saturday, which is a positive. Early on he gapped his opponent on the lead also which at AFL level i'm sure he can do.

Pretty pleased to read this.

I wonder if Vez could play the role Gia has this year, and Gia could perhaps take a few turns through the middle?

Reason being, whilst Gia is a good mark for his size, a lot of sides are cottoning on to the fact we are often going to him in a one v one and have adjusted by playing guys who can out-body Gia, on him. It seems Vez might be the more powerful, medium/small marking player we need. Seems he might have better speed than Gia too - although have read some contrasting reports on this over the course of the season. If he can get the right defensive application and has a little more toe he could improve us a bit.

I also rate Gia in the guts, good composure, hands and vision, however our lack of speed in there may work against him in there, and my suggestion.




Also as Greystache mentioned, good to see Tom Hill amongst the goals. Could he be our answer to the Petrie's and Tippett's of the world? How long do those who've seen him on the park think he may take to develop into an AFL option?

[soupman]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

I also rate Gia in the guts, good composure, hands and vision, however our lack of speed in there may work against him in there, and my suggestion.

I like Giansiracusa in the middle, especially as he is such a good user of the footy. Seeing as in other threads our poor execution by foot has been highlighted, putting such a good user in there could be a really good idea, especially if Veszpremi can show he is capable of generating a similiar (albeit probably inferior) output to Giansiracusa up forward.

Not exactly robbing Peter to pay Paul, but along those lines though. More like giving the Bulldogs a shitty second round compo pick for Harbrow, but that isn't as catchy.

[Greystache]

Re: Williamstown vs Port Melbourne- Round 20

I like Giansiracusa in the middle, especially as he is such a good user of the footy. Seeing as in other threads our poor execution by foot has been highlighted, putting such a good user in there could be a really good idea, especially if Veszpremi can show he is capable of generating a similiar (albeit probably inferior) output to Giansiracusa up forward.

Not exactly robbing Peter to pay Paul, but along those lines though. More like giving the Bulldogs a shitty second round compo pick for Harbrow, but that isn't as catchy.

I like Gia in the midfield too, but he can't play there with Boyd and Cross there too. Cross would need to find another role, lead up half forward is an option but I can't really see it happening.