By LIAM TWOMEY
AN 18-goal second half saw Williamstown sprint to a 100-point win over Coburg in round two of the VFL on Saturday.
The Seagulls put a wasteful first half behind them, with Western Bulldogs’ first round draft pick Jake Stringer taking the game apart during the third quarter.
Stringer finished with five goals to easily establish himself as the most dominant big man on the ground.
Coburg took a high number of key position players into the game, and the decision backfired as the Seagulls ran their opposition off their legs.
Williamstown coach Peter German said the Tigers big men had been a key element in his side’s planning.
“They were really good last week, their talls, especially forward,” he said.
“We put a fair bit of time into making sure that they didn’t get us there.
“We thought they had a fair bit of height, and we thought that was an area that we could expose them in a bit as the game went on.”
Williamstown captain Ben Jolley was outstanding all afternoon to pick up best on ground honours while Bulldogs-listed players Michael Talia, Jackson Macrae and Tom Williams also impressed.
Stringer’s bag of five goals will be sure to see him come under consideration for a debut AFL game with the Western Bulldogs this week.
“We want to try and create the environment down here that gives Stringer, Williams, (Jarrod) Grant and any of those boys the opportunity to play well and put pressure on the players at the Doggies,” German said.
“That is all part of it. Jake just showed why he was pick number five or six, and I still think we are only seeing little, small glimpses.”
Saturday’s 24.13 (157) to 8.9 (57) win improves the Seagulls 2013 record to 1-1 after two games.
German was impressed with the way his side maintained the pressure in the final term, despite having a huge lead.
“We really broke the game open, and it was great that we could finish the game off in the last quarter as well,” German said.
“The focus was just on continuing on the process (in the final term).”
Williamstown now turns its attention to western suburbs rival Werribee, when round three resumes this week.
