FOUGHT until the very end.
A cold seaside drew the attention of the Blues, who fell to the Seagulls in a 28-point defeat in Round 9.
Accuracy on goal wasn't an issue for Carlton, slotting five goals and two behinds.
Georgia Tait opened the visitors' account with a soccer kick from the boundary with the bounce going in her favour.
It was a fingertip away from a Williamstown defender, but the kick had enough pepper on it to add six points to the scoreboard.
It was all the Seagulls from there extending their lead by 16-points come the first break.
The second quarter started well for Carlton entering their forward 50 on more occasions than in the previous quarter.
An intercept mark from Co-Captain Eliza Wood (17 disposals, 10 tackles and five marks) was exactly the confidence boost the players in the Navy Blue needed.
She handballed to Mel Staunton who then did a left foot snap from 25 metres out to go two goals from two for the Blues.
It was going to be a difficult comeback with the Seagulls already out to a 16-point lead at DSV Stadium, but all the Carlton players were hunting and hungry for the ball. Each side scored one goal each in the second quarter.
Bendigo Pioneers debutant Lexi Gregor really stood up after half time, utilising her kick to look over the contest and send the ball down the field.
Her vision was outstanding, sighting Tait in the forward pocket and looking long on multiple instances.
Pioneers teammate Jemmika Douglas and Murray Bushrangers’ Paige Duffy also debuted for Carlton in their hard-fought loss.
Hannah Bowey ended the third quarter on a high, kicking a goal to keep Carlton within reaching distance.
A promising fourth quarter quickly set up the Blues for a potential comeback.
Two early goals from Emily Hurley (24 hitouts, 15 disposals and six clearances) and Amy Trindade got the ball rolling to shift the momentum into the visiting side’s favour.
Carlton reduced the deficit to 11 points near the start of the fourth quarter, but Williamstown continued to push forward and extend their dominance to a 28-point lead come full time.
The defence from the Blues was strong winning the tackles by +13 and overall stoppages, but they were unable to convert in attack with most turnovers happening on the wing transitioning out of their defensive 50.
They also lost the inside 50s by -9 giving Williamstown plenty of more chances to add more to the scoreboard.
Simone Mooney (15 disposals, nine clearances and six tackles) and Hannah Scott (20 disposals and eight tackles) were both strong for the Blues all day both in attack and defence.
Carlton will go back to the drawing board ahead of next week taking on the ladder leaders in Box Hill at IKON Park.
Photo credit: Eliza Nguyen
Match summary
WILLIAMSTOWN 3.4 4.4 5.6 9.6 (60)
CARLTON 1.0 2.0 3.1 5.2 (32)
GOALS
Bowey, Hurley, Staunton, Tait, Trindade
BEST
Demeo, Mooney, Scott, Staunton, Wood
