Williamstown only made the one change to the side that defeated Geelong by 62 points last week – Matthew Notman from the Western Jets was selected for his first game as the 23rd player to replace Scott Sherlock who had played the previous two games as the 23rd player.
First Quarter
The Scorpions started the game well however forward Michael Newton and Danny Hughes missed opportunities, which gave the Seagulls opportunity to push forward, Brennan Stack scoring the opening goal. Tim Callan and Dylan Addison were working well down back and Ben Davies was also prominent. Brennan Stack kicked his second major to establish an early lead for the Seagulls.
Williamstown 2.4 Scorpions 0.7
Second Quarter
The Scorpions opened the second quarter in fine fashion with rover Shane Valenti kicking their opening goal and within minutes Adam Maric goaled to give them the lead. Williamstown was playing inconsistent football and continual skill errors were proving costly. Ruckman Wayde Skipper was having a good battle with Tim Mohr and Matthew Notman was looking composed in his first game. Goals to Matthew Little, Ayce Cordy and Ben Davies kept the Seagulls just in front even though the Scorpions goaled through Danny Hughes and Clint Bartram
Williamstown 5.6 Scorpions 4.10
Third Quarter
The Scorpions begun to dominate from the centre and continually they outnumbered the Seagulls around the ball. Matthew Newton kicked 2 goals and was quickly followed by Kyle Matthews, Michael Stockdale, Danny Hughes and Trent Zomer. Captain Kyle Matthews was inspirational and he was receiving great support from Lynden Dunn, Kyle Cheney, James Wall, Peter Faulks and Evan Panozza. A great passage of play resulted in James Strauss kicking a long goal to establish a 41 point lead. Eventually against the flow Matthew Little goaled to reduce the lead to 35 points.
Williamstown 6.8 Scorpions 11.13
Fourth Quarter
The Seagulls faced a huge deficit but in the opening minutes you could see that the intensity lifted and onballers Xavier Gotch, Sam Reid, Guy O’Keefe, Ben Jolley and Brett Johnson were benefiting from Wayde Skipper’s efforts. Two defensive errors by the Scorpions resulted in goals to Matthew Little and Guy O’Keefe. The Seagulls had a sniff and when David Stretton and Brennan Stack goaled the game was in the balance. The Scorpions responded with a lovely long goal to Matthew Newton as the crowd became very vocal. Full forward Matthew Little marked and kicked his fourth and then Andrejs Everitt marked and kicked a long bomb to reduce the lead to two points. Both sides were desperate as Sam Reid kicked a snap which just missed before minutes later kicked a great running goal from a stoppage to grab an unlikely 5 point lead at the 29 minute mark. The Scorpions would not be denied and they went forward for Danny Hughes snap to just miss and reduce the lead to 4 points. Willi was then able to hold possession for a minute till the siren sounded for a remarkable Seagull victory.
Williamstown 13.12 (90) Scorpions 12.14 (86)
Goalkickers : Little 4, Stack 3, Davies 1, Reid 1, Stretton 1, O’Keefe 1, Cordy 1, Everitt 1
Best Players : Callan, Davies, Addison, Reid, Gotch, Everitt
Reserve’s Wrap
Williamstown recorded its 10th consecutive victory with a 46 point victory over the Casey Scorpions. The Casey Scorpions have enjoyed their best season at Reserves level for a long time and had won their 4 previous games.
Easton Wood had a standout game returning from injury and Captain Matthew Cravino continued his fine form.
Williamstown 7.3 10.9 13.17 19.25 (139)
Casey 4.2 9.4 11.6 14.9 (93)
Goalkickers : Joyce 3, Meyer 2, Georgiadis 2, Egan 2, Jones 2, Grossman 2, Cravino 2, Lynch 2, Cartelli 1, White 1
Best Players : Wood, Cravino, Cartelli, Boumann, Shaw, Lynch.
What’s on next week....
Next Sunday 5th July Williamstown plays western suburbs rival Werribee in a big game in Round 12 action. Werribee have won their last two games against Collingwood and Box Hill and are now only a game outside the top eight.
A supporters bus will depart Seagulls (1 Mason Street, Newport) at 12 noon next Sunday.
Our next home game is Sunday 12th July, when Williamstown plays the Coburg Tigers. The day is our ‘Life Members Day’ and Guest Speaker at the President’s Luncheon is Australian Olympic Champion Grant Hackett.
