VFL Match Preview – Round 11 vs. Williamstown
The Borough will be delighted to welcome fans back through the gate for their annual Frank Johnson Heritage Day when they host their oldest rivals Williamstown at ETU Stadium on Sunday.
With the government announcing outdoor sporting events can now have a 1,000 patron limit, tickets were made available to Members this afternoon to what should prove to be another memorable chapter in one of Australia’s oldest sporting rivalries.
And while both sides will be seemingly entering this game at different levels of the form spectrum, there promises to be no love lost in the ongoing battle for the Johnson-Callahan Cup.
It was only two months ago that the Borough travelled out west to clash with the Seagulls under lights at Downer Oval in Round 3, in what was a bruising encounter of literal attrition.
Port lost two players to injury inside the first 15 minutes of that contest, before fading away late to eventually fall to a 38-point defeat; a margin that was not reflective of the game’s high intensity and quality.
Since that night, the Borough have failed to register another victory, falling to Coburg, the GWS Giants and Carlton on either side of the recent Victorian coronavirus lockdown.
Williamstown, however, are flying as high as their mascot namesakes and currently sit in 5th position on the VFL ladder with a 4-1-1 record to cement themselves once again as a Premiership contender in the new-look 2021 season.
Last weekend, the Seagulls went toe-to-toe with fellow flag fancies Richmond, and were only a few metres off pulling off a stirring win as an after-siren set shot from star midfielder Mitch Hibberd dropped just short.
Since returning to Williamstown after a year at AFL level with Essendon, Hibberd has been a standout of the VFL competition, averaging 29 disposals, 4 marks and 7 tackles per game.
When the two clubs met in Round 3, Hibberd and fellow Liston Trophy contender Eli Templeton spent patches of the game opposed to each other and collected 36 and 38 possessions respectively in two magnificent individual displays of brilliance.
Templeton will chalk up his 100th game at VFL level this Sunday and will be entering in dynamic – and arguably career-best – form.
The recent competition hiatus due to lockdown failed to lessen his appetite for the footy, and the 49 possessions he collected last weekend against Carlton is thought to be a Port Melbourne record in the VFL era.
Despite averaging nearly 35 disposals across his six games so far, Templeton continues to add elements to his individual repertoire in 2021, with the match against the Blues also seeing him tally up 13 marks, 5 tackles and boot two majors.
If the 1,000 spectators in attendance witness another individual match-up of Hibberd and Templeton at some stage on Sunday, they will be no doubt be in for a treat.
Several of Templeton’s Borough teammates through the midfield will also be entering Sunday’s clash off the back of some solid form, with Harvey Hooper (30), Corey Wagner (28) and Mitch Wooffindin (29) all winning plenty of their share of the footy against the Blues.
What Gary Ayres will be hoping to stop against Williamstown is the small lapses by his young side that have consistently resulted in goals being conceded in short periods of time.
Against Carlton, Port Melbourne conceded 3 goals across four minutes in the third term; and twice conceded two goals in two minutes during the last term.
Although sitting with a precarious 1-5 win/loss record entering this game, the Borough have continued to display their full capabilities during most games this season; and Ayres will be hoping the big stage of Sunday’s rivalry clash will be enough to maximise their consistency of output across four quarters.
As part of the annual Frank Johnson Heritage Day, the Borough will be donning a specially-designed Heritage Kit in honour of Frank Johnson, as well as conducting a formal post-match presentation of the Frank Johnson Tribute Medal to the Port Melbourne player adjudged to be best afield on the day by the Johnson family.
Tickets are strictly limited this Sunday and will not be available at the gate. Port Melbourne Members should check their emails (including junk folders) for a passcode provided to access tickets on a ‘first in, best dressed’ basis.
Action will get underway at ETU Stadium at 2:00pm, with teams announced tomorrow and regular updates on the day itself provided via the PMFC social media channels.
Article: Sam Wharton.
Image: Emily Fraser-Ison.
