Williamstown have been set an imposing task on Sunday, taking on the top of the table Port Melbourne in a round eight clash at Burbank Oval.

Western Bulldogs’ Development Coach Chris Maple said the key to shutting down Port Melbourne is persistent midfield pressure and strong defensive work in the back six, to limit the impact of their tall forwards.

“Any time you play against Port Melbourne you are expecting a tough game, a lot of contested ball and they have some good big forwards - so our key defenders will have to defend well,” Maple said.

“It probably comes down to making sure the ball doesn’t enter their forward 50 as much, to give those players less of an opportunity.

“In and around the stoppages will be crucial and whichever team can pierce the defence of the other will get the win on the board.”

The two sides have a long history in the VFL, and last time they met Port Melbourne cut short the Seagulls’ 2012 campaign in the preliminary final, before falling to Geelong in the premiership clash. 

This season the teams are ranked first and second on the ladder after seven rounds and have both put in a number of highly competitive performances.

Port Melbourne’s Dean Galea is also in hot form, currently placed second in the VFL’s goal kicking for the season with 21 goals from seven rounds, including three, four goal hauls.

“Once they do get the ball inside 50 they are hard to beat because of the power forwards they do possess,” he said.

“As long as there is some good forward pressure and the mids are manning their men up, it should be a good game.

“It will be an interesting game, I think Williamstown have a couple players coming back this week.”

The Seagulls head into the game with the confidence of a 176 point win against Bendigo Gold last week, but Maple warned the players should not let their guard down and should approach every match with the same determination and competitiveness.

“It’s a fine line between whether it builds confidence or whether it builds bad habits in people and players,” he said.

“At this stage I imagine from our side of things, the Bulldogs listed players will be making sure that it doesn’t matter who they play - they are going to be ruthless, competitive players.”

Williamstown will face long-term rivals Port Melbourne on Sunday 2 June 2013 from 2pm at the Seagulls’ home ground, Burbank Oval.