VFL grand final: Williamstown left ‘heartbroken’ after gripping grand final loss against Richmond

He had late chances to win it for Williamstown, but Seagulls teammates were quick to get to Willie Wheeler after his two set-shots hit the post in a dramatic VFL grand final finish at Carlton.

Willie Wheeler rides his kick home in the VFL grand final.

Williamstown coach Andy Collins called it “heartbreaking’’.

Senior player Sam Dunell spoke of a “feeling of emptiness’’.

Fellow stalwart Leigh Masters said he was “gutted’’.

And 160-game VFL player Willie Wheeler was “shattered’’.

For the Towners, achingly fine was the line between the elation of a premiership and the dejection of a runner-up finish in Sunday’s VFL grand final at Carlton.

Behind all day — at one stage early in the second quarter Richmond led 4.7 to 0.0 — the Seagulls surged at the weary Tigers late in the last quarter.

After the clock had ticked past 30 minutes, their great midfielder Wheeler twice took set-shots to put them in front. The fickle finger of fortune pointed against Willie and Willy.

Both times he approached the task calmly and confidently. Both times he hit the post. The final siren followed the kick-out from the second poster, heralding a three-point victory for the Craig McRae-coached Tigers.

Dejected Williamstown players and coach Andy Collins (right) at the presentation.

Richmond, remember, lost the 2017 grand final by four points after a kick after the siren was astray.

Everyone in the Williamstown rooms said it: if there was a player you wanted to take the kick, it was Wheeler, a two-time VFL best and fairest, a team-of-the-year regular and a state representative.

“Obviously pretty shattered, hey?’’ the 27-year-old said.

“We had a slow start and then we played good footy, like we have all year. It came down to the 30th minute. Just missed. They both hit the post. Yeah, pretty shattered.’’

Seeing Wheeler being interviewed, former Williamstown player, Carlton’s Michael Gibbons, swept over to support his old teammate.

“Come on, leave him alone. He’s the best kick in Williamstown. Nothing but … not even pressure … it is what it is,’’ Gibbons chopped in.

“It’s all right. It’s all good,’’ Wheeler said.

“No. If you said at the start of the game one player would kick the goal at the end, I’d say Willie Wheeler,’’ Gibbons continued. “Still would.’’

“It’s all good,’’ Wheeler said.

“It is all good,’’ Gibbons said. “The first quarter, that’s what happened.’’

Willie Wheeler is aghast after his shot hits the post.

Wheeler had put away a set-shot early in the final quarter but he said he “actually didn’t hit it that flush’’.

“I thought I hit the other ones OK. Yeah, is what it is. We were always in it. We fought it out. Another few minutes and we could have got them.’’

Wheeler was among the Towners’ best, as he invariably is. He had 19 possessions and led his team’s tackle count with eight.

As Willy captain Adam Marcon saw it, “the ball goes six inches the other way and we’re celebrating a flag in here.’’

He said his team fought back with a “pressure game’’ and through strong marking.

“You could make an argument that we deserved to win in the end,’’ Marcon said.

“Wasn’t to be. The footy gods maybe weren’t with us today unfortunately.’’

He said of the posters: “If you had to pick anyone to take those kicks, it would have been him (Wheeler). He’s a great kick, works hard at his goalkicking. Just one of those things. One swung one way, the other swung the other way. It was pretty swirly out there. What do you do?’’

Jack Charleston runs the ball out of Willy’s defence.

Collins, coaching in his fourth VFL grand final, said the defeat was “heartbreaking’’. He wasn’t up for taking questions.

Assistant coach Peter Banfield said Williamstown had been outstanding in getting into a position to win the grand final after its uncertain start.

“I think it started with really good stoppage control and better ball security,’’ he said. “Early in the first quarter we were a bit fumbly, a little bit ‘off’. But after half time the boys really settled down, played their roles. Defensively, we were really good behind the footy, and our forwards made good contests. After quarter time the game was pretty even. And we dominated the last quarter. We were all over them. We wouldn’t have pinched it. You’ve got to win grand finals.’’

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He confirmed Wheeler’s stature as the team’s best kicker.

“If we said who would be our best set-shot at goal, a lot of people in this room would say ‘Wheels’,’’ Banfield said. “He’s a beautiful kick of the footy.’’

Dunell agreed. “You could see how composed he was when he took both kicks. He hit them well, but they didn’t fall our way. Sort of hasn’t quite sunk in that’s how it went. You get that first, raw feeling of emptiness … and then you think what a great year we had.

“Four guys get drafted (including Gibbons) and we have to go to the market and bring blokes in. If you had said to me at the start of the year we’d lose the grand final by a kick, that’s a super-successful year.’’

Willy dasher Leigh Masters flies for a mark.

Masters said: “Game of inches, isn’t it? We felt that feeling last year in the prelim. Now it’s here again. Nobody’s fault. We showed a lot of heart to give ourselves every chance.’’

Champion ruckman Nick Meese thought Williamstown would finish over the top over the Tigers.

“The boys dug deep and got back into it and honestly — and I don’t know what everyone else has said — I thought we’d get there. Just wasn’t meant to be in the end,’’ he said.

“But, yeah, a great year. Lost four to the draft, which is what you want to see, brought in four or five new blokes and galvanised to get here. It’s upsetting now but in a day or two we’ll be pretty proud of ourselves.’’

For wingman Jack Dorgan, the grand final loss came after a season in which he returned from a fourth knee reconstruction to regain his place in the team in the middle of the season.

He had 21 disposals, behind only teammate Mitch Hibberd (24) in the match count.

Billy Myers (middle) celebrates a superb goal for Williamstown.

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Dorgan said the game wasn’t won and lost in the last two minutes.

“It was probably in the first quarter when we let Richmond get the jump on us,’’ he said. “You’d never read about the finish but we’ll all get around ‘Wilbur’ (Wheeler) and make sure he’s OK.’’

As for his own hardluck story, Dorgan said he was unsure 12 months ago if he would be playing football again.

“To get to this stage, to make it to a grand final, it’s a good achievement for myself and the people who supported me, my family, friends, the footy club itself,’’ he said. “We’ll go again.’’