Once again it’s that time of the week to catch up with Western Bulldogs Development Coach Chris Maple who is here to give us the inside word on our boys who lined up in the VFL last weekend.   On Saturday afternoon, Williamstown hit the road to take on North Ballarat but unfortunately for the Seagulls, it was their second loss in a row. 

Now Chris, were you happy with the performance on the weekend?

Thanks David, well for the second week in a row it was a disappointing result. Williamstown did show plenty of spirit kicking into the wind in the last quarter and scoring the first two goals to level the score, however, North Ballarat facing their fourth loss in a row steadied and finished the game off well to win by 21 points.

Which Western Bulldogs listed players lined up for the Williamstown Seniors and Reserves this weekend?

Playing for the Seniors this weekend were Jordan Roughead, Cameron Wight, Sam Reid, Henry White, Easton Wood, Wayde Skipper, Guy O’Keefe, Jamason Daniels,  Jarred Grant, and Jarrad Boumann.
 While running around in the Seconds were John Shaw, Ayce Cordy, James Mulligan, and Chris Ogle.

Who were the standout players this weekend?

In the Seniors Easton Wood continued his good form from last week, Guy O’Keefe had a very good second half  and Wayde Skipper had another consistent game.  While in the Seconds, James Mulligan played a solid game down back and Ayce Cordy proved to be a good marking target up forward.

After the weekend are there any players pushing for Senior selection at the Western Bulldogs?

All players are pressing for selection which is why it is difficult to get a game at the moment.  Easton Wood, Sam Reid, Guy O’Keefe and Wayde Skipper are all playing consistently at Williamstown.

That’s encouraging, on another positive there were no injuries out of the game.  How would you rate the overall performance of the Western Bulldogs players?

All players had good games and performed well, as they continue to apply pressure to the players in the Senior team. A highlight of the day was Easton Wood’s run and carry off half back and Guy O’Keefes second half.

That’s fantastic because both Easton and Guy are really working hard to earn their Senior debut.  Is there anyone else we should be keeping an eye out for? 

Sam Reid has been very consistent so far this year.  He has played one Senior game in 2009 but was unlucky to have an injury in the past couple of weeks when he was close to Senior selection. Hopefully he can continue his good form and force his way back into the senior team. He uses the ball well, is always hard in at the contest and his tackling is impressive.

Well Chris hopefully with the bye this week the side can freshen up before a strong run at the finals.  I look forward to catching up with you again after the Seagulls big game against Collingwood on the 16th August. 

Go Dogs!