Sport
6 June, 2025
Warriors claim come-from-behind win in Williams’ 150th
Sam Williams celebrated his 150th game in style, with the Stawell Warriors coming back from a 31-point deficit to defeat, with Paul Summers kicking the winning goal in the final moments to defeat Dimboola by four points at Dimboola Recreation Reserve in round seven of the Wimmera Football Netball League.
The Warriors started poor, managing three behinds in the first quarter with inaccurate kicking from Dimboola the saving grace, as they kicked three goals and six behinds to lead by 21 points at quarter time.
Dimboola stayed on top of the Warriors in the second quarter, extending the lead to 31 points at halftime.
Coaches Perry Meka and James Sullivan fired up their troops at halftime, and they responded.
The Warriors had ten scoring shots to three to reduce the margin to nine points at three- quarter time.
The Roos managed to hold the Warriors at bay in the last quarter before Paul Summers marked and kicked a goal in the final moments to give the Warriors the lead.
The final moments were frantic, but the Warriors held on to record an amazing victory.
Summers kicked an equal game-high five goals for the Warriors with Cody Driscoll the other multiple scorer with two. Riley Ika, Owen Summers and Jack Walker also kicked majors for the Warriors.
Sam Williams was tremendous in the midfield again, continuing his solid year which should put him in the spotlight to be a contender for the Toohey Medal later in the year, while Jack Walker, Aiden Graveson, Zachary Marrow, Angus Murray and Riley Ika were also among the best on the ground.
Warriors coach James Sullivan said after the disastrous first half that they had to get back to basics and play their game and was thrilled with how the playing group responded.
“In that first half we were going away from the footy that we wanted to play and the skill level wasn’t there,” Sullivan said.
“I must give Dimboola credit for putting the pressure on us and creating those turnovers and winning the ball.
“We had to get back to the basics we knew, and we didn’t have to peg it back in one quarter, but we managed to get within two goals and then had the momentum in the last.”
Sullivan said the positives they can take out of the game will put them in good stead in the second half of the season.
“We allowed ourselves an opportunity to win the game in the last quarter and we did that, and we were pleased with the response,” Sullivan said.
“We started to get some wins around the ground and focused on that at three-quarter time.
“We had a good pre-season and backed in our fitness, and with a two-week break coming up, we told the boys to empty the tanks and throw everything at it, and we just got there in the end, and can take huge belief out of the game.
“Our forward line is also functioning well and when we give them a lot of looks, we kick a winning score, so it’s now a matter of focusing on that more.”
Sullivan praised Sam Williams in his milestone game.
“We spoke about Sam’s milestone before the game and how we needed to lift and put in a good performance for him,” Sullivan said.
“You are never given wins in milestone games, and we managed to get the win for him.
He didn’t leave anything out there and played a ripping game, so to get a win for him on his big occasion was brilliant.
“He is the fittest he has ever been, and his work rate is incredible, and he gave us plenty of drive and his fitness and pace around the ground holds him in good stead and is putting a good year of football together.”
“Jack [Walker] also had a great game leading from the front,” Sullivan said.
“He is improving week by week and gave us plenty of run and drive on Saturday.
Dimboola is a bigger oval so his running capacity and taking the game on when he got the ball gave us a lot of metres gained, and I am pleased with his game.”
Sullivan said that the two-week break has come at the right time with the Warriors having numerous injuries.
“We had five forced changes last weekend, so it’s a good chance to freshen up and try and get a few players back,” Sullivan said.
“The first week was heavily focused on recovery to try and freshen the boys up and get back to work at the backend of the year.
“We are sitting in fourth and have the big road trips out of the way, so we are sitting in a great position and ready to hit the ground running when we get back out there.”
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