Clay Smith tried his best to break through a tackle on Saturday, but the Port Melbourne pressure was relentless. 80969 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By MICHAEL ESPOSITO
IT WAS the most anticipated match of the season so far but it lived up to no one’s expectations except Port Melbourne supporters, as the Borough crushed seaside rival Williamstown by 80 points on Saturday.
In foul conditions that made hitting the contest hard even more important, Port Melbourne showed that when it comes to body-on-body football, the reigning premier is still the benchmark.
Williamstown managed just three goals – all from the boot of Tory Dickson – in a game that exposed just far the Seagulls are from being a real premiership threat.
The Seagulls were not just shown up by Port Melbourne’s ability to win the ball in the clinches, but by their own sloppy skills and questionable decision making in the wet.
Port Melbourne kicked six goals while keeping Williamstown scoreless in the first term, in what was the Seagulls’ first barren quarter since 2009.
It was an enormous lead considering the sloppy conditions, with Borough forwards Billy Burstin, Dean Galea and Chris Cain proving a nightmare to contain.
Unlike the previous week, the Seagulls did not mount an inspirational comeback.
Dickson was one of few Seagulls who stood up against Port Melbourne, and was the away side’s leading possession getter with Daniel Pearce and Clay Smith also battled hard, while Zephaniah Skinner was lively in patches. However, too many players went missing for too long, which is fatal against a side of Port Melbourne’s calibre.
The influence of important ball winners as Ben Jolley and Cameron Lockwood was quelled as Borough flowers Shane Valenti and Sam Dwyer dominated through the middle.
When the Seagulls did have the ball, they were hamstrung by their own insistence on using the flanks, when a more direct route might have been more effective in weather that did not favour “cute” football.
The number of Williamstown kicks that skimmed across the ground or sprayed off the boot summed up what kind day the Seagulls had. Things just didn’t click.
The relative youth of Williamstown’s side could explain why it was outgunned by Port Melbourne’s stronger, older bodies, but a greater commitment to getting to the ball first would have ensured more of a contest.
That was Williamstown coach Peter German’s instructions throughout the game. He wasn’t going to change the structure, believing that if his chargers won enough of the ball, the game plan would hold up.
But the Seagulls could not match Port Melbourne in that department, and even when Port Melbourne tired and Williamstown’s intensity lifted in the final quarter, the Seagulls could not find an avenue to goal.
After the fourth quarter remained goalless for 20 minutes, the Borough kicked three goals in three minutes to record a convincing victory and extend its winning streak to 27 games.
Port Melbourne: 15.15 (105) d Williamstown 3.7 (25)
Goals: Port Melbourne: W. Burstin 5, D. Galea 3, H. O’’Farrell 2. Williamstown: T. Dickson 3.
Best: Port Melbourne: W. Burstin, S. Valenti, S. Dwyer. Williamstown: T. Dickson, J. Wall, F. Roberts, C. Lockwood.
