By Ben Ford
A strong crowd packed into Windy Hill as the Seagulls faced Essendon with their season on the line.
After a tight opening five minutes, Nathan Colenso got the scoring underway for Williamstown. Alex Mirkov established clear dominance in the ruck early, complemented by Luke Parks, who provided strong defensive resistance with three intercept marks from Essendon forward entries.
That defensive effort held until Essendon eventually found its way onto the scoreboard. One of the highlights of the opening term came through Bailey Ryan, who produced a beautiful snapping goal to restore Williamstown’s advantage.
Jack Toner was also busy through the middle, collecting eight disposals in the opening term as Williamstown took an eight-point lead into the first break.
The second quarter, however, changed the complexion of the game.
Essendon began to build momentum through the midfield, putting pressure on Williamstown to respond. The Seagulls worked hard to slow the game down after the initial surge and made scoring opportunities more difficult to generate.
A late goal from Kallan Dawson gave Williamstown some belief, but the Seagulls were unable to capitalise on further opportunities, entering half-time with work to do.
Heading into the second half, the equation was clear: Williamstown needed to take its opportunities and find a way to regain control around the contest.
The Seagulls knew a comeback was possible, having completed a 28-point comeback against Essendon earlier in the season. However, the challenge was now even greater, with their season on the line in an Elimination Final.
Essendon continued its momentum into the third quarter, while an injury to a Alex Mirkov added to the Seagulls’ growing concerns.
Despite Jack Toner working his way to 20 disposals and Jake Greiser continuing his strong form with 18 disposals and a goal, Williamstown was unable to halt the momentum.
The Seagulls continued to fight, but Essendon extended its advantage through the third term. Williamstown entered the final quarter needing a significant turnaround to keep its season alive.
There were still highlights for the Seagulls as they attempted to finish their season with pride. Toner continued to find the football and kicked a brilliant goal to open Williamstown’s scoring in the final term, adding to an outstanding individual performance.
However, there would be no comeback this time.
Williamstown struggled to generate consistent scoreboard pressure in the final quarter, managing just one goal for the term. When the final siren sounded at Windy Hill, the scoreboard read Essendon 14.12 (96) to Williamstown 7.9 (51), bringing the Seagulls’ season to an end.
Despite the disappointing result, there were still plenty of strong individual performances to come from Williamstown.
Harry Minton-Connell produced an excellent 23-disposal performance in one of his strongest games of the season. Jack Toner was also outstanding, finishing with 29 disposals, while David Cuningham added 19 disposals and 10 contested possessions in another typically hard-working performance.
There is also plenty for Williamstown to reflect positively on from the season as a whole. Joel Fitzgerald and Hugo Hall-Kahan produced impressive first halves of the season, ultimately earning their opportunities through the draft.
Then there was the remarkable progression of Kallan Dawson. His transformation from defender to forward became one of the stories of Williamstown’s season, with Dawson finishing the campaign with a 35 goals and establishing himself as one of the Seagulls’ most dangerous attacking weapons.
Williamstown also thanks Justin Plapp for his service across six years as senior coach and wishes him all the best for the next chapter of his football journey.
It wasn’t the ending the Seagulls wanted, but another finals appearance provided plenty of memorable moments, emerging talent and strong performances across the season.
The VFLW campaign continues, with the Seagulls now turning their attention to supporting the women’s side through the remainder of its finals campaign.
Full Time Score
Williamstown: 7.9 (51)
Essendon: 14.12 (96)
Goalkickers: Dawson (2), Colenso, Ryan, Cuningham, Greiser, Toner
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