Box Hill managed a Round 15 win over Sandringham at Box Hill City Oval on Sunday afternoon, storming home with a seven-goal last term to run out 44-point victors.
The strong win sees the Hawks sitting atop the league ladder with five rounds to go.
The Hawks will this week turn their attention to Round 16 against Essendon in what Senior Coach Zane Littlejohn said will be a challenging clash.
“A double header for us again at Box Hill City Oval, obviously our VFLW doing an incredible job, second on the ladder. Both teams have got the Bombers this week,” he said.
“They’re a really spirited team at the moment, been right in games, so it’ll be another great challenge. They’ve got some good young AFL players and their VFL list is quite strong as well, so a really good test.
“They pushed us in a scratch match earlier this year in which we only just got over the line, so we know we’re going to have to be at our absolute best to compete, so looking forward to that.”
Read what Littlejohn had to say about each AFL-listed Hawk’s performance in Round 15 below.
Finn Maginness (28 disposals, nine tackles, six clearances)
“Tough, worked hard in the contest, did some roles across the day where we send to oppo just to ice them, cool them down and I thought he did a great job at. Obviously really strong running power, helps out number contest to contest which is really helpful and then was really strong around clearance across the day. Finished with 28 (disposals), six clearances, eight score involvements. Really thankful to have him in our group, his leadership, his buy-in, his love has been exceptional so he’s been great.”
Henry Hustwaite (28 disposals, eight clearances, 14 contested possessions)
“Hus, 28 (disposals) as well, eight clearances and eight score involvements. His work around the stoppage is obviously his strong point, really clean, got beaten probably a bit more this week around his moment of truth stuff, but it was a great challenge for our whole midfield group obviously we’ve had Ned (Reeves) for a majority of the year and he’s given us real dominance in the ruck so it was great to see Henry really apply his genuine, really good midfield craft that he’s worked really hard on. And to still play a really good game like he did was exceptional, a really dominant player on the ground.”
Jai Serong (27 disposals,13 contested possessions, ten marks)
“Really strong offensive game from Jai, was really dominant, played more up on a wing so showing his versatility, spent some time down back still and was really strong in his contests. So a really great game from Jai, 27 (disposals), which is high numbers for Jai which is great. And was really dominant and provided some really great run and as I mentioned when he went back was really strong in his contest work as well.”
Cody Anderson (23 disposals, five tackles, five clearances)
“Found a bit more of the footy again this week, finished with 23 (disposals), five clearances and again working really hard on his transition game both ways and what he’s doing when he doesn't have the ball so he’s working really closely with Andy Collins in that space to make sure that he’s got influence and he can influence the game when he doesn’t have the ball and not get caught ball watching. As we know with a lot of draftees, that’s probably one area of their game they’ve got to really learn and learn quite quickly when they come in to play senior footy, whether it be AFL or VFL level, is the defensive side and ability to really execute on that side of the game as well. But we love his toughness, his power, his speed is really valuable.”
Jack Scrimshaw (21 disposals, six marks, four intercept possessions)
“Great to see Scrim get through first of all. Had 10 rebound 50s, 21 disposals, a a really strong performance and great for him to get some continuity. Only played 80 minutes which was always the plan just to get him in playing some footy and hopefully being a really dominant player in the backend of the year for us, whether that be VFL or AFL level, just finishing the year off really strongly for him and his own self. He was dominant in the air, some great contests, some great crazy to calm moments, used the ball really well by hand and foot, he’s gone at 94 percent which is great. Great to see him back out there.”
Calsher Dear (Three goals, 21 disposals, five marks)
“The Calsher of old. He’s put some really good ones together in a row now. So 21 disposals, people will see the three goals three, nine score involvements but it’s the six tackles. Cat-like when he goes up in a marking contest, lands on his feet and is able to pressure, six tackles is a great return from one of your key forwards. But was able to kick some crucial goals at crucial times which was great.”
Will McCabe (19 disposals, seven marks, five score involvements)
“Started the game like a house on fire, 19 disposals, really provided some great offensive run and outlet options coming out of our defensive 50. Again, just continuing to work on his transition both ways now, but spent some time up on a wing just to continue to grow that area of his game and his work rate in that space which is really pleasing. So great to see him start a game really well and was really dominant early in the game and helped set the game up for us.”
Luke Breust (Two goals, 18 disposals, 10 contested possessions)
“A really nicely balanced game from Punk, two goals, probably not the pressure we would’ve liked to see from Punk, got caught out a little bit probably just with bounces of the ball and his patterning, just not being quite to the point we know Punky can be. But his leadership, his love, just how he’s able to help the people around him be better players and you know, when you’ve got a senior player who’s a 300-game AFL player, provide that leadership is invaluable. I think what people need to realise with Luke is he provides so much more than just his footy in our program and at the Hawthorn footy club as well. Hit the scoreboard, seven score involvements, a couple score assists, 18 disposals, we’re starting to see him cover the ground really well and be his damaging self which is great.”
Bailey Macdonald (17 disposals, four marks, four intercept possessions)
“As we know with Baz, his run and create was positive, provided some great offensive drive and really started growing his leadership around our group, which is something that I’ve spoken about a number of times that we want to continue to see him grow in that space with his communication with setting things up, especially with team D. He sees the game quite well and he’s quite intelligent, so we want him to really grow that with his teammates and show that side of his game. But his ability to help and drive out offence has been great, had some more running dashing moments which is great, but as we know he’s been working really hard on his contest and defensive work which was also pleasing on the day.”
Mitch Lewis (Three goals, 17 disposals, eight marks)
“Another solid game from Mitch, second game back. 17 disposals, three goals two and like Calsher kicked a really really important goal when we needed it when Sandy drew level with us in the last quarter and Mitchy went back and kicked a really valuable and crucial goal, the kind that halts their momentum and helps us gain some. From there we went on to kick a run of seven so Mitch Lewis, Calsher and Punky all kicked valuable goals in the last quarter when the game needed people to step up, those three in particular really stepped up in crucial moments which is great.”
Jasper Scaife (13 disposals, seven marks, four inside 50s)
“Spent more time in the ruck this week and really proud of him, was undersized against the Sandringham ruckman, they had three genuine rucks and Scaifey was giving away a lot of centimetres but he competed really hard. Finished with 13 disposals, hit the scoreboard and unfortunately wasn’t a goal but did have some influence around the ground in that space, had some nice strong marks, two contested, which is great. For his development, to continue to give contest in that air and at ground level was a great return, so really rapt for Scaifey, he competed really hard which is what he was asked to do.”
Sam Frost (11 disposals, five marks, three score involvements)
“Ever reliable, started probably a little bit quieter but then when we got him back into just playing depth on the field and really owning the depth of the ground for us, just got back to his absolute best. Competed well, had some big 1v1 wins and was really valuable for us, great leadership. And like Punky, provides way more than just his footy, his leadership, his ability to compete and buy in and show great love to his teammates is invaluable. And we, and I, as the senior coach of the Box Hill really rate that and value that.”
Jaime Uhr-Henry (10 hitouts, seven disposals, two marks)
“Big Jaime, him and Scaifey had to shoulder the number one ruck mantle with Noodle out and did a fantastic job, competed really hard, some great lessons for him in his footy journey. Although he’s not a kid as such, he’s a kid in footy terms, there’s a lot of footy ahead of him and when I say great lessons I mean he gave a lot of free kicks away and at stoppage and the learning he’ll get from that will be valuable for his future which is great. But took a great contested mark down the line, put himself in some good spots, finished with the seven disposals, five handballs and two kicks. And kicked a point, almost kicked his first goal which would’ve been awesome.”
James Blanck (Four disposals, two marks)
“Probably a little bit disappointing for Blancky in the way he performed in contest stuff and transition stuff, he was in the right position but gave it up to easily and was beaten back to goal on occasion so probably not his greatest game. But still really solid in his effort and the way he competed but the Blancky we know would want to be a little bit better than that and compete harder than that but it’s just a solid performance from Blancky without being outstanding.”
A few VFL player shout outs…
Stu Horner (19 disposals, eight marks, four tackles)
“Obviously with Ports out, he’s the captain of the footy club at the moment and he’s leading strongly by doing the basics so well. He’s finished with 19 disposals, just being really diligent in the way that he’s playing his game, he’s getting his contest right first, worrying about that and then once he gets the ball keeping the game really simple and helping us set up some offensive drive so shout out to Stu, we love Stu. He’s the longest serving player at our footy club and is really the backbone of our whole program, AFL and VFL.”
Jack Baldwin (16 disposals, seven intercept possessions, five marks)
“Jack played his first game and was really solid. Had 17 disposals, came in as our 23rd player and played his role and that’s sometimes all we need from these guys who come in and play as the 23rd player. He executed his role, did it to a tee, didn’t try and do more than he had to, kept the game really simple so really proud of Jack. He’s obviously a boy out of our next gen academy at Hawthorn, so great to see him continue to develop and firstly make the VFL list at Box Hill and now to play a game and play really solidly, that’s something that we should be really proud of.”
VFLW Round 11 Results
Box Hill 1.3 4.4 8.8 11.8 (74)
Sandringham 0.2 0.5 0.5 1.7 (13)
GOALS
Stilve, Collingwood, Baldwin (2) Torcasio, Embelton, Matin, Fogarty, Cattle
DISPOSALS:
Van Berkel (23), Prosser-Shaw (20), Cariss-Brett (19), Cattle (19)
