By Lauren Wood, Williamstown Media
After two semi-final attempts against the Lions in recent years, the Seagulls were clearly hungry—and they got their fill, running out 21.10 (136) to 12.8 (80) winners in perfect Queensland conditions.
A late change saw Blake Coleman, the team’s only travelling emergency, rushed into the lineup for Nick Ebinger, ten minutes prior to the first siren.
Within 30 seconds, Coleman had kicked the opening goal of the match, capitalising on a quick forward entry from Tom Mundy.
A minute later, he had two, bursting onto a Brodie McLaughlin handball and finishing cleanly, making the most of his opportunity in front of family and friends in Brisbane.
Williamstown couldn’t have asked for a better start with five kicks, eight disposals and two goals within the opening minutes of the match.
Jack Brown’s relentless pressure kept the ball locked in the forward half, while Toby Triffett was a brick wall, setting up the Seagulls to massage the ball through the corridor and find McLaughlin at the top of the 50.
McLaughlin went on to slot his third at the 30-minute mark.
The Lions clawed back three late majors to trail by 24 points at quarter time after a long 35-minute opening term.
Riley Collier-Dawkins was dominant early, with 10 disposals in the first quarter and a crunching tackle to open the second.
The quarter saw the Seagulls go up another gear. With 13 inside 50s to none in the opening 17 minutes, Brisbane simply couldn’t exit their defensive half.
Mitch Cox kicked his first goal of the season being a three-on-one, and by halftime, the Seagulls had piled on another seven goals to take a 43-point buffer into the rooms.
Despite conceding the first goal after the main break, the Seagulls answered quickly.
Ollington’s pass found McLaughlin again, who launched a long ball to a contest where Tom Downie soccered through a clever goal.
The Lions showed glimpses of fight—Brandon Ryan’s third goal narrowed the margin to 34 at the final break—but Williamstown steadied in the last.
Any hope of a Brisbane comeback was swiftly dashed, as the Gulls slammed through six of the final eight goals.
Harry Minton-Connell launched a monster kick to assist McLaughlin’s fourth, while Noah Gadsby drilled his first from 52 metres, capping off a 15-disposal outing.
Hugo Hall-Kahan closed the day’s scoring with a behind, bringing the final margin to 56 points.
Williamstown spread the scoring load with nine individual goalkickers. McLaughlin and Coleman both finished with five.
Finn O’Dwyer and Minton-Connell were elite in defence, combining for 53 disposals, while Triffett’s ball-winning ability consistently gave his teammates first use.
The win marked just the second time this season that Williamstown has cracked the ton and extends their winning streak to five, dating back to Round 6 against Southport.
It also marks their first successful interstate trip of 2025, with the Seagulls flying home to Melbourne with some of their best highlights of the season so far—perfect viewing for supporters over the bye week.
Final Score:
BRISBANE: 3.1 | 5.2 | 9.6 | 12.8 (80)
WILLIAMSTOWN: 7.1 | 14.3 | 15.4 | 21.10 (136)
Best Players: McLaughlin, Coleman, Minton-Connell, O’Dwyer, Downie, Colenso
Goal Kickers: Coleman (5), McLaughlin (5), Colenso (3), Ollington (2), Gadsby, Cox, Hall-Kahan, Hollow, Petric, Downie
