by Kyle Champion

In a massive twist, Williamstown has beaten NT Thunder at Downer Oval. The wind was the dictator of this game and the Seagulls took full advantage. The final score saw Williamstown 4.2(26) defeat Thunder 1.9(15).

With the wind howling at Downer Oval, the ball was always heading in one direction. Williamstown was first to play with the wind but Thunder’s defenders in Tayla Thorn and Charlie Deegan were strolling out of their defensive half with ease.

Angela Foley was busy as usual and was well complemented by Deni Varnhagen. Thunder dominated the inside 50 stat but didn’t have the carry to penetrate the goals.

Eloise Jones, in her first VFLW game for 2019, had a set shot at goal but sprayed it badly in horrid conditions. The opening term ended with only a behind a piece.

Thunder’s turn to take advantage had Varnhagan kicking 70-metre clearances. Thunder was peppering the goal face but lacked composure. They finally scored through Jade De Melo, who burst through the pack and planted a quick check side of the boot to get Thunder rolling.

Unfortunately, Katie Streader and Charlie Deegan both went down to friendly fire. A clash of heads sidelined the pair for the game midway through the second term. And by the end of the game, the side had four concussions in all.

From here, Williamstown was starting to take advantage and win plenty of ball, but could not land a crucial blow in the quarter.

In the third term, the rain hit hard and so did the Seagulls. Thunder’s structures were holding up for most of the term, but the Seagulls soon turned the game on its head.

Gemma Anderson burst into attacking 50 to kick Williamstown’s first major. A 50-metre penalty gave Jasmine Kawa a gift in front of goal. Another harsh penalty saw Megan Willamson kick the Seagulls’ third and Thunder were in trouble.

Thunder went into the final quarter with Tayla Thorn pushing into the midfield. They pressured and fought hard but every score they managed were mere behinds.

It took just one piece of play to break Thunder’s back. Jedda Heard was all alone in an empty Thunder backline and strolled into an empty goal.

This proved to be the biggest upset of the season as Williamstown secured its first victory.

Coach Heidi Thompson believes her team struggled in tough weather conditions and with the pressure in general.

“I don’t think we adjusted to the conditions well enough,” Thompson said. “We also didn’t adjust to other things that were thrown on us. We didn’t handle the pressure really well and unfortunately, we started to play some really ill-disciplined football. Giving away two 50s in a quarter in a game where you got a massive breeze is one of those things you can’t come back from. The writing was on the wall in the third quarter.”

The loss of key players in Charlie Deegan and Katie Streader, didn’t help Thunder. Both are crucial to Thunder’s structure and both have been performing at an outstanding level.

“Charlie Deegan was arguably best on ground as one of our key defenders for the first half. Katie Streader was a winger on one of our wing rotations and has been performing week in and week out. To see those two go down was really disheartening and I really feel for those girls. But it’s about how we bounce back now and how we recover.”

There were a fair few free kicks given away by Thunder, but Thompson admits that is not Thunder’s style of footy.

“It’s not the way we play our footy,” she said. “I think it’s really important to look back on this type of game and understand where the wheels came off and how we can ensure that doesn’t happen again. Because it’s unacceptable.”

Thunder will now return to Darwin as they prepare to face the Blues next Saturday at TIO Stadium. Hopefully it will be a chance for Thunder to bounce back from a poor day.

NT Thunder: 0.1 I 1.4 I 1.4 I 1.9 (15)
Williamstown: 0.1 I 0.1 I 3.2 I 4.2 (26)

Goals

NT Thunder: Jade De Melo

Williamstown: Gemma Anderson, Jasmine Kawa, Megan Williamson, Jedda Heard

Best

NT Thunder: Deni Varnhagen, Eloise Jones, Nikki Gore, Tayla Thorn, Shantel Miskin-Ripia, Kristy Irvine

Williamstown: Rebecca Dardengo, Jedda heard, Ruby Tripodi, Jasmine Kawa, Emily Crawford, Megan Williamson