Williamstown travelled to Trevor Barker Oval to play Sandringham in Round 14 of the VFL. Sandringham had lost their 4 previous games – almost unheard of from the power side of the competition who have won 4 premierships since the VFL Competition was revamped in 2000. Sandringham was strengthened with the inclusion of experienced Demon trio Aaron Davey, Jeff White and Adam Yze plus youngster Jace Bode and multiple Sandringham premiership players Nick Sautner and David Gallagher. Williamstown made 3 changes to the side that defeated the Casey Scorpions in Round 13. Cameron Wight and Jarrod Harbrow were promoted to the Western Bulldogs side and Nathan Lyons was dropped to the reserves. Into the side came Shaun Higgins who was returning for his first game in 15 weeks, Bulldog rookie Henry White for his first game and vice captain Steven Greene returned for his 100th VFL game.
FIRST QUARTER
Williamstown captain Brett Johnson won the toss and kicked with the prevailing wind which was worth a 3 – 4 goal advantage. Peter Street was at his dominant best as the Seagulls had 3 goals on the board within the opening minutes through Adam Cook, Patrick Rose and Matthew Little. The Sandringham defence was under enormous pressure and a couple of defensive errors resulted in Williamstown kicking goals. Liam Picken was shadowing the Zebra captain Peter Summers and Sam Reid , David Stretton and Callan Ward were prominent. Seagull forwards Jason Cloke , Matthew Little and Adam Cook were lively and Brennan Stack drifted forward to kick a long goal. Sandringham champion full forward Nick Sautner looked to be in good form with a number of strong marks against Scott Meyer and kicked 2 goals to keep his side in the contest.
Williamstown 9.3. (57) Sandringham 2.3. (15)
SECOND QUARTER
Sandringham begun the quarter with Sautner continuing to create problems for the Seagulls defence and kicked 2 more majors to have 4 on the board. Adam Yze was also prominent as the Willi defence through Ben Jolley, James Beaumont, Kane McKenzie, Paul O’Shea and Brennan Stack were under the pump. Rose and Little were providing the Seagulls with tremendous targets up forward and Shaun Higgins, Cameron Lockwood and Henry White were providing great impetus off the bench. Sandringham had certainly lifted their work rate with Ricky Petterd, James Frawley and Chad Liddell leading the way. Jason Cloke was forced from the ground with the blood rule and then Steven Greene was injured to leave the Seagulls with a man down. Sandringham edged to within 20 points behind before Patrick Rose kicked his fourth goal on the siren to establish a 26 point half time lead.
Williamstown 12.4. (76) Sandringham 7.8. (50)
THIRD QUARTER
Williamstown again had use of the prevailing wind but it was Sandringham who dominated the early stages of the third quarter and kicked the opening two goals of the quarter through David Gallagher and Nathan Carroll. Aaron Davey was on fire in the midfield and Sandringham coach Andy Lovell threw Jeff White down back as a loose man and big John Meesen did the ruck duties around the ground after lining up on a wing. This move was proving to be significant as Williamstown lost their way. Against the flow of the game Williamstown kicked 2 goals but the Sandringham side were on fire and outscored the Seagulls into the wind to reduce the lead to 22 points with all the momentum at three quarter time.
Williamstown 14.8. (92) Sandringham 10.10. (70)
FOURTH QUARTER
Willi begun the final quarter with a crucial centre break which resulted in a Matthew Little goal which was critical. Sandy were not to be denied and Sautner kicked his fifth goal and little Addam Maric was outstanding and begun to create problems for the Seagulls. Sam Reid moved forward and marked and goaled to steady the ship. Former Zebra captain Chad Liddell kicked consecutive goals to reduce the lead to 8 points. Jason Cloke was playing an outstanding last quarter as the experienced players like Peter Street and Brett Johnson willed their team mates to lift. Dean Galea who had had a quiet day kicked a great goal as Willi ran the ball the length of the ground against the wind. Sandy again crept within 8 points but an outstanding passage of play involving Galea and Johnson resulted in a David Stretton goal which extended the lead out to 14 points and a critical away victory which keeps the Seagulls on top of the ladder.
GOALKICKERS : Rose 4, Little 3, Cook 2, Galea 1, Johnson 1, Picken 1, Stack 1, Stretton 1, Reid 1, O’Keefe 1, Cloke 1, Street 1.
BEST PLAYERS : Picken, Street, Rose, Johnson, Stretton, Little.
RESERVES WRAP
Williamstown continued their unbeaten run with their 12th victory over the third placed Sandringham by 95 points. This victory now sets up the clash between the two undefeated sides at Reserves level next Sunday. Coburg Tigers are the reigning premiers at reserves level and have won all their games this season.
On Saturday Williamstown played a very solid 4 quarter effort by the team and they look forward to their biggest challenge this week.