A third quarter rally was not enough to secure the win for Williamstown FC who were handed a 7 point defeat at the hands of Geelong in an Easter Sunday showdown at Torquay.
After falling 45 points behind a solid Geelong outfit in the first half, Williamstown fought hard in miserable conditions to get back into the contest in the third term, kicking five goals to one before the last change.
Despite being buoyed by the momentum in the third quarter Williamstown could not quite get over the line before the final siren.
Williamstown opted to kick with the strong breeze in the opening term but it was Geelong who started strongly running the ball into the breeze and creating early scoreboard pressure.
Lead by Captain Troy Selwood and George Horlin-Smith, Geelong dominated the first quarter booting three goals and keeping Williamstown to four behinds.
Kicking with the wind in the second term, the Cats’ capitalised on numerous scoring opportunities with their small forwards proving dangerous around goals but Geelong’s inaccuracy prevented the margin from blowing out further than 45 points before the main change.
A revitalised Williamstown outfit took to the field in the third term, playing an almost unrecognisable brand of football in the second half, with an early goal to Matthew Panos igniting momentum.
Patrick Veszpremi, Jason Johannisen and Cameron Lockwood provided some much needed run out of the back half.
At the defensive end Mark Austin was given the task of shutting down the dangerous Josh Walker and performed the task admirably as Williamstown closed in on the Cats.
Williamstown’s quick ball movement and run exposed a weakness in the Geelong defence with Tom Hill registering a 4 goal quarter while Jason Tutt, Justin Sherman and Jack Redpath also slotted through majors.
The Seagulls kept up the intensity in the final term but were forced to concede the four points when the final siren sounded.
Williamstown 0.4 2.5 9.11 11.12 (78)
Geelong Cats 3.5 8.15 9.16 11.19 (85)
GOALS:
Williamstown: Hill 4 Lockwood 2 Witkowski Redpath Sherman Tutt Mead
BEST:
Williamstown: Austin Lockwood McNamara Jolley Hill Goodes
