HAWTHORN’S depth has been on show in the first half of the VFL season, with both the Box Hill Hawks’ Senior and Development sides sitting on top of their respective ladders at the end of Round 11.
A number of Hawks have played starring roles for our VFL affiliate and are pushing hard for senior selection.
Head of Development Academy Damian Carroll, Box Hill Hawks Senior Coach Marco Bello and Development Coach Rob McCartney have been keeping a close eye on Hawthorn’s first to fourth year players.
In this two-part feature, we take a look at their thoughts on the developing Hawks’ seasons so far.
In part two, we look at the Hawks’ second, third and fourth year players.
Jed Anderson
AFL games: 4
VFL Senior games: 5
Marco Bello says…
“Jed has had a slightly interrupted season to date, he missed a lot of footy last year and we'll be looking for him to play more footy in the back half of this season.
His hunt on the footy is elite – he’s hard, he’s physical and he’s strong.
Jed’s best game this season was a four-goal, 20-disposal performance against Essendon.”
Kurt Heatherley
VFL Senior games: 9
Damian Carroll says…
“Kurt has been really solid this year and is definitely playing better senior VFL football.
He’s been one of the most consistent and effective tall defenders at Box Hill level.
Although he’s on the rookie list, we believe he could step up to AFL football if the opportunity arose - however he’s still a work in progress for us.
While we’re really happy with his development, we can still see a lot of upside in Kurt heading into the second half of the year.”
Tim O’Brien
VFL Senior games: 9
Rob McCartney says…
“Tim has had a really solid month of footy – he’s averaged 15 disposals, six marks and two goals per game during this period.
Tim’s ability to vary his leading patterns makes him a difficult forward to contain.
He is able to hit up at the ball, rip back to space and also launch at contested aerial balls.
Earlier in the season he also demonstrated his flexibility by playing as a defender.
He’s developing the ability to play in multiple positions which you need to be able to do as an AFL player.”
James Sicily
AFL games: 1
VFL Senior games: 8
Rob McCartney says…
“James is an exciting player who has demonstrated that he can open the game up within a short period.
He made his AFL debut in Round 2 against Essendon, and showed that with further development, he has the attributes to forge a career at this level.
He has kicked five goals on two occasions at VFL level, highlighting his aerial and ground level ability in these games.
He’s developing the consistency to again put his name up for AFL selection.”
Shem Tatupu
VFL Development games: 7
Rob McCartney says…
“Shem is playing at development level and after a limited pre-season he has showed considerable improvement over the past month.
In our most recent game against Port Melbourne he demonstrated what a dangerous and powerful forward he is.
Shem’s six goals in this match came from one-on-one contests, smart hit up leads and contested pack marks.
As a New Zealand rookie he has an exciting upside.”
Zac Webster
VFL Senior games: 1
VFL Development games: 2
Rob McCartney says…
“Injury has impacted Zac’s season to date.
Reoccurring hamstring injuries have limited his involvement to three games this year.
We’re really looking forward to a big second half of the year from Zac.
Given a better run with injury I’m sure we will see how damaging his leg speed can be in the forward half of the ground.”
Dallas Willsmore
VFL Senior games: 9
Rob McCartney says…
“Dallas has been probably one of our most consistent performers at VFL level playing both as a forward and outside mid-fielder.
He’s impressed us with his work-rate. His searching runs provide great defence to attack connection for our team.
He has a lethal left foot and has used this to good effect this year – the forwards light up when Dallas has the ball in hand.
Dallas is also a dangerous forward having kicked goals in six of our nine games.”
Alex Woodward
VFL Senior games: 8
Marco Bello says…
“Alex has been in as good a form as last year when he won the JJ Liston Medal for best player in the VFL.
He is a consistent performer who works hard at his craft.
He is averaging 29 disposals per game and had a standout 40 touches against Coburg in Round 2.”
RELATED
Mid-season Development Report: Part One
