While there have been positive aspects in Plapp’s 2025 side, he has acknowledged that the areas needing greater consistency are clear.
“It’s a hard period because we want to keep going, I want to keep going, but the reality is we didn’t take wins when we needed to throughout the year,” Plapp said.
“There was a fair bit of what happened earlier in the season – in losses like to Essendon and GWS – that came out today.”
While the defeat ended the Seagulls’ 2025 campaign, Plapp urged his group to see the bigger picture, pointing to the strides made from last season and the opportunity to continue growing.
“You’ve all grown from last year, but how do you grow again? It’s finding opportunities when we’re not together to work on your body and your game,” he said.
“If you’re going to keep committing to VFL footy you need to think about how you can get better through investing more time outside of the Club.”
The coach continued to remind his players that the competition demands more than the minimum, encouraging them to embrace the challenge of ongoing development.
“If you want something bad enough and if you want to achieve something bad enough you’ve got to work at it and you’ve got to put the time and effort in,” Plapp said.
“Just doing the bare minimum doesn’t get you there.”
Despite the disappointment of the result, Plapp praised the resilience and character of his group, urging them to be together to process the season before looking ahead.
“It’s not an easy time, but we’ve got good character. We stick together, have a laugh, and then think about what we do next, because that’s all we can do right now.”
Williamstown’s VFL side now closes the chapter on the 2025 season, with hopes of taking the next step in 2026 and overcoming the barrier that has held them back from the latter stages of finals in recent years.
