A rampant opening term was enough for Williamstown to end the Northern Blues season, inflicting a 30-point defeat at Burbank Oval on Saturday afternoon.
The Blues were destined for a strong start when Sam Rowe clunked a strong contested grab inside 50 and converted from 30 metres out at the seven-minute mark of the first quarter.
However it wouldn’t be until the 15-minute mark of the second term and seven unanswered Williamstown goals later that the Blues would see their second.
Williamstown’s Liam Jones became the thorn in the Blues side, kicking four first-quarter goals as the Seagulls jumped out of the blocks dominating the centre clearances.
To top it all off, 14 Williamstown inside 50s garnered 6.4 to see the Seagulls take a 33-point lead into quarter time that would remain relatively unchallenged throughout the match.
Williamstown captain ran riot with 18 possessions in the first half before being quietened by both Rhys O’Keeffe and Kane Lucas in the second half.
For the Blues it was the youngsters in Tom Temay (two goals) and Frazer Dale (20 possessions and two goals) that kept the Blues in the hunt, despite trailing by 41 points at the main break.
Dale’s second quarter was amongst some of the better football he has played in his time at the Blues, with 8 possessions for the quarter, four marks, two tackles and the two majors.
The Blues stepped up considerably in the second half, yet it would be a case of too little, too late.
Rowe marked strongly and capitalised in similar fashion to the first quarter for his second goal, while Jeremy Laidler shone at both ends of the ground.
Blanketing Jones in all but one contest, Laidler was terrific in his first game back from a leg injury, rewarding himself with a third-quarter goal to go with five goal assists.
Yet despite having wins in most statistical areas including contested possession (144-132), clearances (42-39) and inside 50s (53-50), Williamstown’s polish ensured they kept the Blues at bay.
The Seagulls’ offensive run was relentless, often having midfield numbers streaming through the forward 50, with the Bulldogs-listed Nathan Hrovat, often the beneficiary with two second-half goals.
The Blues continued to fight to the end, nabbing the first two goals of the last quarter through Kane Lambert (31 possessions) and skipper Andre Gianfagna (21 possessions) to bring the margin to within 25 points.
It would be as close as the Blues got as Jones’ sixth goal for the afternoon ensured the Blues’ Mad Monday plans would be prematurely booked.
For the Blues, Lambert was outstanding in accumulating another 30-plus possession game despite the close attention of two Williamstown stoppers, while Nick Meese put in a solid performance to contribute to the Blues win (69-44) in the hit outs.
Dave Ellard continued his solid form in a defensive role finishing with six tackles, while Jaryd Cachia toiled manfully to finish the game out with 20 disposals after hobbling off the ground early in the first quarter.
The loss ends the year for the Blues; a season that started so brightly after three wins from their opening three rounds.
Post-match, Frazer Dale said despite of his side’s fortunes for the day, they could look back on the year positively.
“Obviously the goal is to make finals and be competitive, but from where we’ve come from last year, it’s a massive plus for us as a group,” Dale said.
“We just didn’t capitalise on the opportunities we had when we had the wind, and our defensive game let us down on some crucial occasions.
“It’s a great learning curve for this group, there’s a lot of upside for us heading into next season. We had games we probably should have put away earlier in the year, but we’ll learn from those experiences and be better for it.”
NORTHERN BLUES 1.1 4.5 7.9 11. 15. (81)
WILLIAMSTOWN 6.4 11.4 14.7 17. 19. (111)
GOALS: Rowe 2, Dale 2, Temay 2, Garlett, Lambert, Gianfagna, Marcon, Laidler
BEST: Lambert, Dale, Gianfagna, Laidler, O’Keeffe, Ellard
Matthew Lodge covers Northern Blues games for Carltonfc.com.au. You can follow him on Twitter: @MatthewSLodge
