Box Hill have recorded their seventh win of the season with a 13-point victory over North Ballarat.
Lost opportunities and poor kicking accuracy early in the opening minutes of the game gifted North Ballarat an early major. Box Hill finally broke through at the 10 minute mark with a goal to Aaron Bond, however the Hawks soon realised the day wouldn’t be a walk in the park.
With the Roosters displaying strong pressure around the ball, the Hawks forwards struggled to break through their defensive line. However, some fancy footwork from Billy Murphy and a second goal to Aaron Bond soon put Box Hill in the lead heading into the first break.
North Ballarat jumped the gun early in the second with two majors, bringing them back within 2 points of the lead. However, a fantastic lunging effort from Nick Evans created a turnover just shy of the centre creating another repeat inside 50 for Box Hill. As was the theme for the day, Chris Jones’ quick snap effort sailed to the right of the goals to register yet another behind.
The match was slowly becoming a game of tug of war with Box Hill managing to use some of the little momentum they could gather to create a few majors. None better then another stunning effort from Nick Evans. Backing up his defensive efforts with an impressive, under pressure snap around the body to give Box Hill a 17-point lead 15 minutes into the second.
With a quick response from the Roosters, a second goal late in the quarter from Jordan Walker gave Box Hill a slender 13-point lead by the half time break.
Read: What we learnt during Round 12
Early into the third term, both teams were trading pairs going goal for goal, however a strong showing from defensive pair Kurt Heatherley and Nelson Lane kept the Roosters at bay at the final break with the Hawks leading by 21 points.
The final term would seem to follow the same trend as the third quarter, before the Roosters found a few quick, decisive early goals yet again putting Box Hill on the back foot.
The Hawks did not seem rattled by the Roosters late charge with Ty Vickery finding Chris Jones inside 50 gifting him his third major for the day.
Conor Glass also added his name to the scorers sheet after being on the receiving end of a silky tap from Marc Pittonet, finding the space to slot the match winner.
The Hawks running out eventual winners by 13 points and atop the VFL ladder heading into the bye.
FINAL SCORE
Box Hill Hawks 4.3 6.10 9.14 12.16 (88)
North Ballarat 2.2 5.3 7.5 11.9 (75)
GOALS
C. Jones 4, A. Bond 2, C. Glass 2, T. Vickery, N. Evans, A. Moore, W. Murphy
DISPOSALS
K Heatherly 29, A. Moore 28, B. Evans 23, H. Morrison 21, N. Evans 21
