Reminiscing more on Lablett - One of the best games Leysy saw him play was pre-Richmond. In the 2014 VFL semi-final where he single handedly got his team into the Grand Final.
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KANE Lambert produced a colossal performance as Williamstown lifted itself off the canvas on Sunday to progress to the VFL preliminary final.
The Seagulls trailed by 32 points at the final change against arch rival Werribee before kicking nine unanswered goals in an awe-inspiring last-quarter blitz in the semi-final at North Port Oval.
Recruited from the Northern Blues, Lambert returned extraordinary numbers in his best-afield display, logging 32 touches, 17 clearances, 15 inside 50s and four goals as Williamstown claimed a remarkable 26-point triumph, 15.15 (105) to 11.13 (79).
Three of those majors came in the final term as the midfielder delivered a masterclass when his team desperately needed it.
The Seagulls were on the brink of a straight sets finals exit before the heroic Lambert carried them to the penultimate weekend of the season.
Lambert said a disappointing final term in the qualifying final against Footscray the previous week provided the catalyst for the memorable win, which extended Williamstown’s stranglehold over Werribee to 12 games.
“We needed to bounce back from the way we played in the last quarter last week. On an individual basis, I knew my game was poor as well, so I had to stand up,” Lambert said amid the jubilation in the rooms after the success.
“What we learnt from last week is that if we we’re going to win the game, we have to play our way. We don’t have to panic.
“We kept our structures and that was the difference. We have great confidence in our playing group as well. We think we can win from any position.”
Two of Lambert’s goals in the final stanza were from long range as he did his chances of earning a berth on an AFL list at season’s end no harm.
His first put the Seagulls in front midway through the final term and the second — with just four minutes left in the match — completed a fightback of epic proportions.
Fittingly, Lambert also booted the final goal of the afternoon and was duly mobbed by his teammates.
“It was just a bit out of the box. I’ll probably be more confident from outside 50 than 20m out now,” Lambert said.
Werribee was left to lament how it could cough up its sizeable advantage after appearing to have complete control.
The Tigers trailed by eight points at half-time, but many felt they were the superior side.
They suffocated Williamstown in the third term, booting 6.7 to 0.3 to build what most thought was a matchwinning advantage.
Werribee’s crisp disposal stood out, along with the superb work of former Fremantle-listed player Jesse Crichton and Scott Sherlock.
Sam Wormald, Sam Martyn and Daniel Currie were also influential, but Lambert trumped them all.
With Ben Jolley and Adam Marcon typically brilliant in the middle, Williamstown turned the contest on its head.
As the club celebrates its 150th anniversary, this should rate as one of its best ever wins.
“A real credit to the boys, because obviously in the second and third quarter we were losing control, especially the third quarter,” Seagulls coach Andrew Collins said.
“To bounce back and compose themselves at three-quarter-time … if we were going to lose, we were just going to run out of time rather than play the way that we were playing.
“The boys were able to switch the game around a little bit — we just did a couple of little things differently and they carried it out.
“You stick to the game and you start to impose yourself.”
Collins tipped praise on Lambert, who has enjoyed a stellar second half of the season after hip surgery during the break delayed his start to 2014.
“I just said it’s one of the best individual games I’ve seen at a state league level,” Collins said.
“We understand that he’s a special talent.”
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32 disposals, 17 clearances, 15 inside 50s and four goals and cemented to Leysy after years of being miles above VFL level he should be on an AFL list. Was then absolutely rapt when we chose him in that years rookie draft.
Have got plenty wrong over the years - Might even concede Collins and Meyer ha! But Leysy is gunna blatantly *smile* in his own pocket and quote himself on Lablett
We've gone away from State League's with late picks a bit more in recent years. Reckon we get back to that mine that has netted us Broad, Baker, Lablett, Pickett and Co.
After listening to that speech and Dimma's response the club are definitely keen to keep him. Will make an outstanding development coach for our young kids (initially before stepping up). He will be in demand though.
The sacrificial lamb as I liked to call him
