BY MICHAEL ESPOSITO
WILLIAMSTOWN has booked a highly-anticipated clash against reigning premiers North Ballarat in the qualifying final at Box Hill City Oval on Sunday.
Williamstown did as expected and comfortably accounted for Frankston by 93 points on Sunday to finish the minor round in second spot.
Frankston, at home, ran with the Seagulls for a quarter, but Williamstown took over after being three points down at the first break.
Matthew Panos, who has played most of the season in defence, kicked six goals for Williamstown. The Western Bulldogs rookie is a natural goalkicker, but has been put in the backline this year to further develop his game.
Brett Goodes starred in the midfield in one of his best games of the year.
Williamstown has lost four games this season – two against top team Port Melbourne and two against North Ballarat.
The Seagulls’ chance to dispel any doubts about its premiership credentials will be on Sunday when they take on the Roosters at Box Hill City Oval, a ground where Williamstown has enjoyed big wins in recent years.
North Ballarat has defeated Williamstown by a combined total of 15 points this season.
MEANWHILE, Werribee will take on Box Hill at Avalon Airport Oval in a knock-out final this Saturday after going down to North Ballarat by 22 points on Saturday and finishing the home-and-away season in fifth.
The Tigers had to win to have a chance of securing fourth place and the double chance, but in the end it didn’t really matter as Casey’s 100-point thrashing of Northern Bullants, thanks in part to a 10-goal haul from Brendan Fevola, gave it clear percentage advantage to ensure fourth spot regardless of other results.
Werribee was more than competitive at Eureka Stadium, finishing the game with three more scoring shots but lacking the efficiency of the well-drillled Roosters.
It was a game that posed several “what-ifs” and “what-could-have-beens”, as Werribee stunned the Roosters with a five goal to one first quarter. But Werribee also kicked nine behinds and should have been more than 32 points up at the first break.
North Ballarat punished Werribee for inaccuracy in the second quarter, piling on eight goals to two to hold a four-point lead at half-time. The Roosters continued its dominance in the third quarter to post a four-goal lead at three quarter time, and in a dour battle it was always going to be difficult for Werribee to make inroads in the last term. North Ballarat ran out 16.8 (104) to 11.16 (82) winners.
