By LIAM TWOMEY
WILLIAMSTOWN came off second best against Victorian Football League competition front runner Casey on Saturday, going down by 23 points.
In windy conditions, the Scorpions jumped out of the blocks to open up a 26 point lead at the first break.
As one of the form teams in the competition, the Seagulls flew back into contention in the second quarter, booting six goals to two and turning a 26 point deficit into a two point lead at the main break.
However, the remainder of the match was dominated by Casey, with the Scorpions kicking eight second half goals and holding Williamstown to just three to secure the 14.8 (92) to 9.15 (69) win.
“You lose some key players from the week before, Veszpremi had 38 possessions, Austin was our best player in defence and Witkowski was one of our key players in the back half and you replace them with some kids,” Seagulls coach Peter German said.
“We were good enough to win. I think we had about eight more inside 50s than what Casey did but ultimately in the end I think they were just too big and too strong around the contended ball.
“There was a lot of ground balls and a lot of stoppages and I think they got us there. Ultimately that was probably the difference between the two teams.”
The Seagulls were left to rue a disappointing patch after half time which German believed turned the match.
“In the third quarter they kicked about four goals in the first 10 minutes and that really set them up for a seven goal quarter,” German said.
“We were just hanging on. I think the quarter went for about 35 minutes so they probably broke us there.
“The boys fought back though and we probably had about 10 shots in the last quarter and kicked 2.6. If you translate that into 6.2 it is a different game.
“In the end I thought we weren’t good enough on the night.”
Melbourne listed player Lynden Dunn put him name forward for a senior recall with a best on ground performance which included two goals.
Thomas Couch, Jack Fitzpatrick and James Magner were also among Casey’s best.
For Williamstown, Ayce Cordy booted three goals while Cameron Wood and Lukas Markovic also played well.
Saturday’s result sees Williamstown slip to fourth spot on the VFL ladder with a 2-2 win/loss record for the season.
This week the Seagulls will take on Collingwood at Burbank Oval on Sunday.
