Sandringham’s 2016 campaign has drawn to a close after Williamstown eased to a 46-point win in Saturday’s semi-final at North Port Oval.
The Zebras withdrew Lewis Pierce (illness) pre-game and lost defensive general Jack Noone in a horrific incident in the second quarter, with a broken leg.
In a game with ebbs and flows, the Zebras only managed to put together two consistent quarters - the first and the third terms - but it was the class of a strong bodied Williamstown outfit that won through to next weekend’s preliminary final.
A lacklustre opening term was tightly contested and not much separated the two sides, with the Seagulls two-point leaders on the quarter time siren.
The intensity rose after the first break, aggressive tackles were applied and several stoppages before the Zebras lost Noone at the 17-minute mark.
The Zebras were coming hard at the Seagulls up until that point, but once play resumed after Noone left the ground on the stretcher, Andy Collins’ side piled on four consecutive goals to lead by 26-points at half-time.
Sandringham was able to regroup at the main break, coming out with a three goal to one third quarter to win the term and maintain a slim chance to overpower the Seagulls.
Kade Answerth stepped up with two goals in the third quarter to help reduce the margin to 17-points and within reach of the Zebras if they got going early enough in the last quarter.
Unfortunately for Sandringham, they could only manage the one goal for the quarter while the Seagulls kicked away with six majors to run out convincing winners.
Jack Sinclair (23 disposals, 12 tackles) and Tom Curren (1 goal, 25 disposals, 6 tackles) battled hard to create opportunities, while Josh Saunders (29 disposals) and Kade Answerth (2 goals, 25 disposals, 6 tackles) were among the best as the Zebras 2016 campaign came to an end.
SCOREBOARD
WILLIAMSTOWN 3.2 7.4 8.10 14.11 (95)
SANDRINGHAM 3.0 3.2 6.5 7.7 (49)
GOALS: Answerth 2, Shenton, Haidon, Curren, Dennis-Lane, Fisscher.
BEST: Answerth, Curren, Sinclair, Saunders, Verma, Wilkins.
At North Port Oval.
