Collingwood were now a game clear in eighth position.
Williamstown made 7 changes to the side which lost to North Ballarat by 20 points – Stephen Tiller, Tim Callan and Matthew Little returned from injury. Andrejs Everitt and Brennan Stack returned from the AFL, Nick Georgiadis was promoted for his first senior game and Western Jet Matthew Notman was selected as the 23rd player.
Out of the side went Easton Wood and Sam Reid who were promoted to the Western Bulldogs whilst Chris Egan, Tom Langlands, Matthew Grossman, Jarrad Boumann and Jamason Daniels were dropped to the Reserves.
First Quarter
Collingwood had first use of a strong wind but it was Williamstown who took the early initiative kicking the opening 3 goals, through Matthew Little who was too quick for Pies defender Lachlan Keefe. The Seagulls midfield was on fire through Wayde Skipper, Jordan Roughead, Ben Jolley, Ben Davies, Brett Johnson, Xavier Gotch, David Stretton and Guy O’Keefe were prominent. Collingwood responded with goals to Nathan Brown, Danny Stanley and John McCarthy but a fine snap to Jarrad Grant helped the Seagulls to lead by 11 points. Defenders Stephen Tiller, Tim Callan, Henry White, Matthew Notman and Andrejs Everitt were excellent during the first term.
Williamstown 4.6
Collingwood 3.1
Second Quarter
Williamstown now had the breeze at their back and the Seagulls continued their dominant attack on the ball to kick 9.1 to the Pies 1.4. Forwards Patrick Rose and Dean Galea kicked multiple goals and Matthew Little, Dylan Joyce, Wayde Skipper, Brennan Stack and Guy O’Keefe also kicked majors as the lead ballooned out to 56 points.
Anthony Corrie kicked a great snap goal to record the only major for the Magpies. Nick Georgiadis was having an excellent debut game and Wayde Skipper continued his dominant form. Defenders Scott Meyer, Cam Wight and Jason Cloke were solid contributors.
Williamstown 13.7
Collingwood 4.5
Third Quarter
Collingwood now had the opportunity to reduce the lead with the wind but it was the Seagulls who kicked the first goal through Dylan Joyce. Xavier Gotch then snapped the Seagulls 15th goal before Anthony Rocca kicked two goals in 5 minutes. Dylan Joyce and Dean Galea kicked consecutive goals for the Seagulls to win the quarter against the wind and extend their lead to 60 points. Rookie Henry White was having his finest game at Senior level.
Williamstown 17.9
Collingwood 7.9
Fourth Quarter
Williamstown now again had the breeze but it was the Pies who were having their best period of the game. Steele Sidebottom, Marty Clarke, John McCarthy and Danny Stanley were prominent and their good play was rewarded with goals to Ryan Cook and Johnny Bennell. Coach Brad Gotch took the opportunity to rest some of his senior players and give extra minutes to his young players and goals to Dean Galea, Brett Johnson, David Stretton and Dylan Joyce enabled the Seagulls to run out 69 point winners and to get a healthy percentage boost to head the VFL ladder after 18 rounds.
Williamstown 21.9 (135)
Collingwood 9.12 (66)
Goalkickers : Joyce 4, Galea 4, Little 4, Rose 2, Johnson 1, Skipper 1, Gotch 1, Stack 1, Grant 1, Stretton 1, O’Keefe 1
Best Players : Jolley, Skipper, Stretton, Joyce, O’Keefe, Galea
Reserve’s Wrap
Williamstown snapped a 3 game losing streak by defeating the Northern Bullants by 45 points in tough wet and windy conditions.
Williamstown made 12 changes to the Reserve side that lost to North Ballarat and the return of these players certainly assisted the team in recording a dominant win.
Williamstown 4.12 5.14 6.18 8.21 (69)
Collingwood 0.1 1.2 2.5 3.6 (24)
Goalkickers : Daniels 2, Miller 1, Lee 1, Muir 1, Egan 1, Cravino 1, Nicolopoulos 1
Best Players : Langlands, Lynch, Cravino, Rampe, Grossman, Daniels
What's on next week...
Next Sunday 23rd August Williamstown travels to Cranbourne to play the Casey Scorpions in a crucial Round 19 game in the VFL. The Scorpions are in 6th position and boast a 9 – 7 win / loss ratio.
A Supporters Bus will depart Seagulls Nest (1 Mason Street, Newport) at 11:30am.
