VFL Review: Collingwood Vs. Williamstown (Round 2, 2009)

The Scores

Collingwood: 4.0 / 6.2 / 10.6 / 11.9 [75]
Williamstown: 1.3 / 7.7 / 15.8 / 20.11 [131]

Goals: Dick 4, Bryan 2, Dawes 2, Corrie, Reed, Hunt.

The 10th Letter’s Best: Wood / Reid / Macaffer / Sidebottom

Things were looking good early but soon deteriorated as any semblance of teamwork went out the window and made way for sloppy individual play.  Whilst Collingwood put on a poor display both with the ball and without it, Williamstown played a committed brand of team football and the scoreboard reflected their dominance after quarter time.

We snagged the first two goals of the match after Brad Dick crumbed one off the pack in the goal square early on, followed shortly by Scott Reed kicking truly on the run from 45 metres out.  Williamstown worked their way back into the contest, with the ball spending a lot of time in their half of the ground for the next 10 minutes.

Ben Reid stood up well in defence, taking some good grabs and using the ball well.  In one passage, he marked strongly in front of his man and then picked out Macaffer with a perfect 50 metre pass down field.  Despite Williamstown owning the play, we withstood and managed to add two more goals for the quarter through Brad Dick and Chris Bryan, who was set-up nicely by Chris Dawes.

The second quarter started positively also, with Collingwood looking the better early on.  Brad Dick kicked his third from 40 out directly in front and when Corrie converted an opportunistic goal we looked in a comfortable position.  From that point on however, it was all Williamstown as they seized control of every position and proceeded to dominate.

Former Magpie Chris Egan was prominent in getting the Seagulls back into the contest, snapping two very good goals from tight angles.  As for Collingwood, we simply looked incapable of doing anything good with the ball and a lot of our players were ambling around at half-pace, placing the Williamstown ball carriers under minimal pressure.

Williamstown dominated the remainder of the second quarter and whilst benefiting from some dubious free kicks, they were simply showing more desperation and applying more pressure and were in turn rewarded more often.  At the half-time break, Williamstown had snatched an 11 point lead.

The second half played out much like the last 15 minutes before half-time.  Williamstown were simply a much better outfit and their forward line carved up our defenders, with perhaps only Reid and Francis looking somewhat serviceable.  Our midfield was well beaten at the clearances and in most stoppage situations and as a result our defenders were exposed.

Williamstown kicked eight goals for the quarter, whilst we managed to add four through Dawes, Bryan and Hunt.  Trailing by 32 points heading into the last, the game became a mere formality with the only question being the eventual deficit.  Brad Dick snapped another crumbing goal to take his total to four for the day and despite how good that might read to a stat observer, he was rarely in the contest over the course of the day.

The difference was simply team ethic, Collingwood played like a collection of individuals with no common goal.  Our players either blazed away with the ball, didn’t work hard enough to provide an option or simply ignored options when available in vain efforts to get noticed.  When not in possession, we placed minimal pressure on Williamstown and they made us pay as a result.

The end result isn’t a clear indication of the talent we have coming through, as no player is bound to stand out when the side functions as it did yesterday.  There were positive glimpses from a few of our players, most notable being Reid, Macaffer, Sidebottom and some improvement from the likes of Wood and Dawes.  Chris Bryan always gives his all and provides a contest, but playing as a permanent forward meant that he fell victim to Williamstown’s dominance further up field.

As for the players I’ve listed in our best, I would not read too much into that either.  I would say after yesterday’s performance, nobody staked a genuine claim for the senior side.  The players I have listed were the ones who I believed showed some team ethic and at least worked to be involved throughout the course of the match, as opposed to when it suited them.  In a game like yesterday where it was hard to find any clear stand-outs, you can only reward players who at least show some application.

In the end, I was disappointed with the way our side operated collectively but in some ways it’s to be expected when you have a side filled with players trying to stake a claim.  On the other hand, I was impressed with the way Williamstown played.  They obviously have some talent from the Western Bulldogs doing the rounds – particularly one Guy O’Keefe who carved us up – but regardless they played like a team with pride for the jumper.

In closing, I’d like to make a special mention to the Williamstown supporters.  It was good to see a gathering of vocal Seagulls supporters wearing the blue and gold — suburban football still has a heartbeat.

Related Articles: [VFL Player Report Round 2]