- Dec 3, 2009
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- Footscray Bulldogs, Williamstown
Gentlemen, it's time for the biggest match of the VFL H&A season as Williamstown takes on its traditional rivals Port Melbourne at North Port Oval in what looks to be an interesting match as Port Melbourne would be looking to extend their winning streak while Williamstown would be looking to gain some form of revenge following last years Grand Final.
Last season, Williamstown lost all three matches against Port Melbourne including a hard fought battle in round 20 where the end of the match was cut off for the usual ABC dredge following the football. Here's hoping that it doesn't come to that.
Port Melbournes greatest strength is its coach Gary Ayres who has turned a team of part-timers into one that is as strong and as disciplined as any AFL team. That isn't to say that the team is just a team of battlers held together with a strong gameplan, they have some of the most talented state leaguers in the country, amongst them being the two time Liston Trophy winner Shane Valenti. They also have the VFLs leading goalkicker in Dean Galea who was second only to Paddy Rose on the goalkicking tables last year.
Williamstown will be relying on a few players this game; They need Tom Campbell to continue his strong form in the VFL by keeping even or defeating Wade Skipper while feeding the ball down to Jolley and Goodes who will have their work cut out for them against Baird and Valenti.
They would also be hesitant to play Mulligan against Dean Galea who dominated the much larger Seagull in the VFL Grand Final, kicking 6 goals and contributing a few assists for Paddy Rose who is thankfully no longer there. It would have instead been preferable if Austin or Markovic had played against him however Witkowski would instead take him first as he has been in good form over the season so far.
With no Hill, Matthew Panos and Jack Redpath will be the main targets up forward although this may be a harsh first experience for Redpath who will not have played against defenders such as Pleming or Sandilands. This may be further compounded by the recent heavy rain in Melbourne and the forecast showers over the next two days. This will suit the heavy bodied Hooper, Cravino and Dickson who would probably find these conditions ideal.
My preferred bench would be Jong, Cravino, Greenwood, Roberts and Carr. The wet weather would limit Mulligans mobility and Ayres would look to playing Galea against him in hopes of a repeat of last year while Giles may miss out because two rucks is one too many in wetter weather. Conway is an outside chance to be named because of strong form in the AFL Dvelopment league with four goals against the Blues and six against the Zebras.
I am not particularily confident about this match. Port are in dominant form at the moment and may prove a little too much for the Seagulls to overcome especially with some of the outs this week.
Williamstown
B
Lockwood Witkowski Wall
HB
Tutt Talia McNamara
C
Bugeja* C. Smith Pearce
HF
Dickson Panos Moles
F
Hooper Redpath Skinner
R
Campbell Goodes Jolley
Int
Giles Jong McHarg
Carr Mulligan Conway
Greenwood Roberts Cravino
And on another note, welcome back Brodie Moles to VFL seniors football. He has been gone for quite some time with injury and it's great to see him running about. Likewise to Johannisen who looks to have escaped a serious knee injury and won't have to have an operation upon it.
Last season, Williamstown lost all three matches against Port Melbourne including a hard fought battle in round 20 where the end of the match was cut off for the usual ABC dredge following the football. Here's hoping that it doesn't come to that.
Port Melbournes greatest strength is its coach Gary Ayres who has turned a team of part-timers into one that is as strong and as disciplined as any AFL team. That isn't to say that the team is just a team of battlers held together with a strong gameplan, they have some of the most talented state leaguers in the country, amongst them being the two time Liston Trophy winner Shane Valenti. They also have the VFLs leading goalkicker in Dean Galea who was second only to Paddy Rose on the goalkicking tables last year.
Williamstown will be relying on a few players this game; They need Tom Campbell to continue his strong form in the VFL by keeping even or defeating Wade Skipper while feeding the ball down to Jolley and Goodes who will have their work cut out for them against Baird and Valenti.
They would also be hesitant to play Mulligan against Dean Galea who dominated the much larger Seagull in the VFL Grand Final, kicking 6 goals and contributing a few assists for Paddy Rose who is thankfully no longer there. It would have instead been preferable if Austin or Markovic had played against him however Witkowski would instead take him first as he has been in good form over the season so far.
With no Hill, Matthew Panos and Jack Redpath will be the main targets up forward although this may be a harsh first experience for Redpath who will not have played against defenders such as Pleming or Sandilands. This may be further compounded by the recent heavy rain in Melbourne and the forecast showers over the next two days. This will suit the heavy bodied Hooper, Cravino and Dickson who would probably find these conditions ideal.
My preferred bench would be Jong, Cravino, Greenwood, Roberts and Carr. The wet weather would limit Mulligans mobility and Ayres would look to playing Galea against him in hopes of a repeat of last year while Giles may miss out because two rucks is one too many in wetter weather. Conway is an outside chance to be named because of strong form in the AFL Dvelopment league with four goals against the Blues and six against the Zebras.
I am not particularily confident about this match. Port are in dominant form at the moment and may prove a little too much for the Seagulls to overcome especially with some of the outs this week.
Williamstown
B
Lockwood Witkowski Wall
HB
Tutt Talia McNamara
C
Bugeja* C. Smith Pearce
HF
Dickson Panos Moles
F
Hooper Redpath Skinner
R
Campbell Goodes Jolley
Int
Giles Jong McHarg
Carr Mulligan Conway
Greenwood Roberts Cravino
And on another note, welcome back Brodie Moles to VFL seniors football. He has been gone for quite some time with injury and it's great to see him running about. Likewise to Johannisen who looks to have escaped a serious knee injury and won't have to have an operation upon it.
