Williamstown v Geelong - Sun 17th.

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Wed Aug 13, 2003 10:30 am

Williamstown bounced back from a shock loss the previous week when they travelled to York Park for the match-up against The Devils.

Although The Seagulls went in missing Marcus Baldwin due to suspension, but with the return from injury of Cameron Cloke and Luke Shackleton, Tasmania went in to this game as favorites. Tasmania challenged Williamstown all day when these two teams met earlier in the year, with Williamstown scraping home by 4 points, and where expected to dominate in what where cold and wet conditions.

Williamstown, however, proved far superior all over the ground on Friday night and came home 38 point winners.

This week sees Geelong travel up the Freeway in the hope of maintaining their winning form. With the top three as good as sewn up, the battle for the all-important fourth spot (and a double chance) is hotting up. A win by Geelong will keep the pressure on Sandringham, but a win to Williamstown will ensure them of the double chance come finals time, and still keep alive their hopes for a top two finish.

Baldwin should return for this game, and if they can perform again like they did last week, Williamstown should win this easily, but Geelong, as the reigning VFL premiers, will be out to prove that their poor early season form was just one of those things that happen in football.

'Bluey' McGrath and Cameron Mooney have started to hit their peak, and Peter Street is giving the Geelong midfielders first possession, but the Seagulls midfield have been able to dominate most games, and with the likes of Adrian Fletcher, Heath Scotland, Sam Cranage and Luke Mullins on fire, thanks to the not-often-beaten Guy Richards, the running players of Bo Nixon, Luke Shackleton and Rupert Betheras could cause headaches for the Cats defence. Josh Mahoney has always been dangerous up forward, and Baldwin's return will add both strength and height to a potent Williamstown forward line.

The back half is ably led by co-captain Troy West, with strong support from 'Tex' Walker and Nick Maxwell, whilst Glenn Freeborn supplies the cool-headedness and experience sometimes needed. The other co-captain, Brad Lloyd, is often called in to strengthen the defence across half-back, and also adds another option through the midfield.

Leon Davis is starting to regain some form and regularly performs some magic, but needs to gets some consistency and play the game out. Mark Richardson is often the 'shuttle' player, filling in the gaps in either defence or attack when needed and never lets his teammates down. Cameron Cloke appears to have returned in the same form he showed before his rib injury and is a man mountain who is always difficult to contain.

Craig Smoker never stops running and often finds space. Brendon 'Jimmy' Hollow played possibly his best game in senior company last week, shutting down the dangerous Ben Beams, and with great leg speed, often leaves his opponent in his wake. Luke Jarrad has been excellent since his debut game, and CFC rookie-listed player Steven Eichner has that mongrel in him that makes opposition forwards wonder where the next hit will come from. Speaking of hitters, David King is one of those players that always goes in hard at the ball, and is becoming Richie Cole-like in the body contact stakes.

The senior game kicks off at 2pm, with the reserves, who play Coburg, starting at 11.20 am.

This game will also be broadcast live on Stereo 974.

I'll post the team line-up when it's released (Friday), and any other snippets of info as they come to hand.

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Fri Aug 15, 2003 6:35 am

Team to play Geelong.

B: King ~ West ~ Walker.
HB: Mc Gough ~ Richardson ~ Lloyd.
C: Freeborn ~ Fletcher ~ Cranage.
HF: Mahoney ~ Molloy ~ Mullins.
F: Nixon ~ Baldwin ~ Betheras.
R: Cloke ~ Shackleton ~ Davis.
Inter from: Crow ~ Hill ~ Hollow ~ Jarrad
Maxwell ~ Pearce ~ Richards ~ Smoker.

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Sat Aug 16, 2003 10:56 am

Just heard on Stereo974's 'VFL in focus' program, it was mentioned that Josh Mahoney is a late withdrawal as he is heading off to Rome for work commitments.

A huge loss for the potent forward line of Williamstown, and someone will need to step up and take the role of the dangerous Mahoney.

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:43 am

With Port Melbourne's win over Box Hill yesterday, today is a must-win game to keep Williamstown in the race for top spot.

Four points will then separate first and third, and with Box Hill to play Tasmania, in Tasmania, next Saturday, and Port visiting North Ballarat next Sunday, Williamstown can still take top spot if they win today and roll Bendigo next week. Less than one percent also separates the top three, so not only will they need to win, but win by big margins.

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:02 am

It works much in the same way as the AFL.

Top plays first, second plays third, etc. The first week, however, will be played at the home grounds of the higher finishing teams as the AFL will still have one round to play. The remaining finals games will then transfer to Optus Oval.

Therefore, the way it stands now, Williamstown will play Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval, but if we are able to claim top spot then we get the first final at Burbank Oval against whoever finishes fourth.

This is why Williamstown need to win the last two games and hope other results go their way.

Chantal85 · Post by **Chantal85** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 4:58 pm

Fantastic win by williamstown...absolutely killed geelong by over 90 points. Keep up the good work willi

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 5:34 pm

Final scores:

Will: 2.3.15 ~ 9.9.63 ~ 16.12.108 ~ 22.14.146
Gee: 0.4.4 ~ 1.6.12 ~ 3.9.27 ~ 7.12.54

Goals: Baldwin 7, Richardson 4, Smoker 2, Davis 2, Molloy 2, Hill, McGough, Shackleton, Cloke, Crow.

(My) Best: Lloyd, Betheras, Shackleton, Davis, Cranage, Molloy.

The reserves ended their home-and-away campaign with yet another emphatic victory. Although Coburg tried, they where never in the game and the higher skill level of the Williamstown outfit was evident from the start.

Final score:

Will: 5.7.37 ~ 7.11.53 ~ 11.17.83 ~ 21.25.151
Cob: 0.3.3 ~ 0.4.4 ~ 3.4.22 ~ 4.4.28

Goals: Ramsay 4, Sheehan 3, Pearce 3, Kelly 2, Anderson 2, Taylor, Uhi, La Verde, Runnalls, Langlands, Rippon, Lawry.

Best: Kelly, Sheehan, Jarrad, Gowers, McArdle, Pearce.

molloymagic · Post by **molloymagic** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 5:40 pm

should i ask how Molloy went today?. Did he look confident etc?Would he have to wait another week to get into the collingwood side?. For that matter,how did the other senior pie players go?.

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 8:00 pm

Molly had 20 possessions and gave out several heavy bumps, but my opinion is that he only played to the level one would expect from a player of Jarrod's calibre.

Leon was at his best with some electrifying play, especially the piece of play early in the last quarter. He gained possession in the centre, bounced, weaved and bumped his way out of 5 - 6 would-be tacklers, then kicked a pin-point pass to Marcus Baldwin.

I'll compile a full report tomorrow.

Macgyver · Post by **Macgyver** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 9:42 pm

Dale,
What was your judgement on Luke Mullinses game, i just read on hotrod's board it was his best game of the year!
and whats the go with Leon in a car crash?

foxy · Post by **foxy** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:19 pm

my report (also posted on Hotrod's board):

on a windy & very brisk day at willi the star-studded gulls beat geelong by just under 100 points. it was an utterly comprehensive performance after quarter time. a very even team performance & a lotsa good news. watching the first-year boys like bo, shaks & king running around this year, finding their feet against grown men, is such a luxury.

player by player summary:

leon - didn't make a mistake all day. very, very solid, & surely not far off a promotion. started deep in the forward line & was switched to the middle during the second quarter, where he had an immediate impact. could've had two goals in the first quarter but just missed both attempts. all his field kicks were spot on. he basically OWNED the last quarter - turned on a bit of a show at one stage, ducking through about 6 geelong players in the middle (seriously) and firing a 40 metre pass straight onto a forward's chest. beautiful to watch.

richo - if leon turned on an exhibition in the last, richo was pulling all the party tricks during the third. kicked 3 or 4 goals in about 10 minutes & was totally dominant. other than that he was fairly quiet.

molly - when the game was up for grabs, molly was superb. no exaggeration. his first quarter was molly circa 2001 all over again. did one of those classic bullocking 100 metre runs done the wing which resulted in a leon mark about 15 metres out. literally ransacked the ball outta the middle at one stage & got it forward for a goal. in fact he played a fair bit of the game in the middle, & was very solid. drifted outta the game in the second half. i'd bring him in for walker & play him off the bench for impact.

freeza - fairly quiet but couldn't fault him when he got the ball.

rupe - possibly BOG. didn't make a mistake all day & just looked sooo strong. surely a chance to come back but who we gonna drop?

bo - getting better & better. has come on in leaps & bounds since early in the season; looks amazingly mobile yet strong. wanna see him in the middle soon. he looks like a footballer.

richards - quiet around the ground but was dominant at nearly every centre bounce. some exquisite tapwork at times. was swung forward in the last quarter & was fairly uninspiring.

MCG - started out pretty quietly but really took off during the third quarter. kicked a monstrous goal in the second quarter. solid.

mullins - probably his best game so far. started out very, very well. looks so flashy around the pack & moves extremely well in traffic. i wanna see him kick some goals on the run so his confidence really blossoms.

shaks - solid again. just barges his way through the middle every time & has the amazing knack of always getting a kick or handball away despite being tackled by about 5 players. one to watch.

king - has improved EXPONENTIALLY since the start of the season. played most of the game in defence & started out verrrry well. very strong overhead & his hands in close are superb.

cloke - not nearly as effective as he was early in the season. richards is a far better ruckman, but clokey never stops running & he really is a booming kick. kicked a monster goal from about 60 during the second.

swan didn't play.

maxwell played & looked pretty agile & impressive.

did i miss anyone? any questions, fire away.

molloymagic · Post by **molloymagic** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:37 pm

Just wish we could have seen this game on tv. Would love to have seen Molly play like he did in 2001 again. Lets hope he did enough to pursade the selection people.

Great to hear the other senior pie players playing well also.

well done Williamstown!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.

HAL · Post by **HAL** » Sun Aug 17, 2003 10:41 pm

Okay. . . . . . I will play it on your soundcard.

Warbler · Post by **Warbler** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 8:50 am

Absolutely love these reports . Just so I can follow how our young blokes are going .
Keep up the good work , it's really appreciated .
GO PIES

Dale61 · Post by **Dale61** » Mon Aug 18, 2003 2:41 pm

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Williamstown v Geelong - Sun 17th.

Williamstown v Geelong - Sun 17th.