By LIAM TWOMEY
WILLIAMSTOWN secured its first win of the Victorian Football League season on Sunday, comprehensively beating Footscray by 41 points.
While it may look like a regulation victory on paper, the day will be permanently etched into the Seagulls’ history books.
As well as collecting the four points, it was also Williamstown’s first win since once again becoming a stand-alone VFL side.
The club’s last win as a stand-alone side was in 1999.
After dropping their first two games of the season, the Seagulls were switched on from the opening bounce and it didn’t take long for that to translate to scoreboard pressure.
Williamstown booted the first goal after Cameron Lockwood pinpointed a pass to Leigh Masters.
The Seagulls continued to have the better of the contest for the remainder of the quarter with Jake Charleston, Anthony Anastasio and Willie Wheeler all hitting the scoreboard to give the home team a 20-point lead at the first break.
Despite both sides struggling to make inroads on the scoreboard after the break, Williamstown still had the better of the important moments. Ed Carr and Daniel Kulikowski both got their names on the goalkickers’ list to lift the margin to 27 at half-time.
After the teams traded goals throughout the third term, Williamstown took control of the match in the final quarter.
The Seagulls booted four goals to one to seal the 15.8 (98) to 7.15 (57) win.
Anastasio continued his good work from the first quarter and added another two goals to his tally to finish with four for the match.
He was well supported by off-season recruit Scott Clouston who took a number of important marks and finished with three goals.
For Footscray, on what was a tough day against a likely finals opponent, Mitchell Honeychurch and Marcus Bontempelli worked hard to be among the club’s best players.
The weekend’s victory improves Williamstown’s win/loss record to 1-2.
This week the Seagulls will take on the Richmond Tigers.
