Williamstown Football Club president Trevor Monti. 51742 Picture: KRISTIAN SCOTT
By Michael Esposito
WILLIAMSTOWN has had an eventful year, winning the inaugural Foxtel Cup, having its home ground redeveloped and occupying second spot on the ladder for most of the season.
That’s where Williamstown finished the home-and-away season, and will take on rivals North Ballarat at Box Hill City Oval this Sunday in the qualifying final. Williamstown has not defeated the Roosters since 2008 and question marks still hang over their premiership credentials this year.
But if any team can be considered a major threat to the undefeated Port Melbourne, it should be Williamstown, given the Seagulls came closest to defeating the Borough in the match of the season in Round 16. In saying that, Casey has come good at the right time and could shake up the finals series.
Star spoke to Williamstown president Trevor Monti about Williamstown’s finals aspirations and its nomadic season.
Star: How would you rate Peter German’s performance as coach this year, given Williamstown won the Foxtel Cup and finished the home-and-away season in second, all while not having a home ground?
Monti: He’s done a terrific job. It’s been a very tough year for Williamstown and we had to travel interstate three times, twice to Perth to play in the Foxtel Cup. It’s been a really good year for Williamstown so far and I think supporters for the club can be very proud of the achievements we’ve been able to accomplish this year, both in the VFL and with the Foxtel Cup.
What have been the challenges of being aligned with an AFL club and having a playing list which changes weekly?
It’s the toughest gig of all time coaching an aligned side in the VFL because every week changes are inflicted on us. That’s part and parcel of having an alignment. If we didn’t want one we wouldn’t be there. But we accept it and we co-operate with the Bulldogs and they co-operate with us. I think there’s no doubt that our alignment with the Bulldogs is by far the strongest and by far the closest and most successful of any two aligned clubs in the VFL/AFL. And I think that would be acknowledged pretty much across the board by anyone who knows anything about football.
Have the Bulldogs players bought into the Williamstown culture?
t think that they have and I think a lot of work has been done by the Bulldogs and by ourselves to ensure that the culture of Williamstown is understood and accepted and when they put on the blue and gold jumper that they are representing Williamstown and playing for Williamstown, and I’ve no doubt that that’s been very successful.
What did Williamstown’s 101-point win against Box Hill in Round 17 teach you about the Seagulls’ depth?
We went from 15 Bulldogs in previous weekend down to nine against Box Hill. We had eight changes in the side and that’s a pretty dislocating event but it’s a measure of our depth that we can produce players that can perform as they did and win as well as what we did.
How is the redevelopment of Burbank Oval going?
It’s going terrific, it’s due to be completed by 23 March. It’s coming into shape now, the structure for the roof is on the building – you can start to get an appreciation of how it’s going to look. What it’s going to be above all is a fantastic asset for the West to have such a feature with a restaurant function centre available that will seat more than any other function centre in the West and we hope will be utilised by all facets of the community in the West.
