The Box Hill Hawks secured a fifth win in succession on Saturday, accounting for rivals Essendon by 69-points at Box Hill City Oval to remain atop the VFL ladder.

The Hawks set up the win with two bursts of three goals in the first term and put the contest to bed once and for all with a breathtaking six-goal spell in the opening 15 minutes of the second half.

It was a day in which Box Hill boasted a breadth of contributors all over the park – and while the twin towers of Mitch Lewis and Max Ramsden will steal the headlines for splitting nine goals and 18 marks, it truly was a team performance in every sense of the word.

Zane Littlejohn’s charges finished the contest +58 in disposals, +22 for inside 50s (converted into a staggering 54% scores per entry), +12 clearance, +20 marks and never trailed while booting 20 goals from 34 scoring shots.

Henry Hustwaite maintained his phenomenal form at the VFL level, winning acclaim as the Hawks’ best player on the day.

‘Huss’ was the number one player on the ground for disposals (33), contested possessions (20) and clearances (11), while also adding nine score involvements, five marks, four tackles and four inside 50s in yet another standout performance in the Box Hill engine room.

Keeping things neat and tidy behind the ball was the experienced and classy Jack Scrimshaw, who was adjudged to be his side’s second best player. ‘Scrim’ won 26 touches, tallied six rebound 50s, three inside 50s and took six marks in an assured display in the Hawks’ back six, using the ball well and setting up wave after wave of attack.

Mitch Lewis has no doubt given the Hawthorn match committee something to mull over following a near-faultless showing out of full forward – a showing which was unquestionably the strongest of his three matches on return from a knee reconstruction.

Lewis kicked 5.1 from 13 disposals, took a clutch of towering and impressive marks and was the most damaging player on the ground in front of goal.

Another to impress was Trent Bianco, who won a mountain of ball in a hybrid role across half-back and through the midfield.

Bianco’s 32 disposals were bettered only by Hustwaite’s tally of 33 on the day, while he covered every blade of grass to record an equal game-high 11 marks on his way to 115 ranking points – the most of any player on the ground.

Cody Anderson’s encouraging run of form continued, with the Eastern Ranges product central to the Hawks’ midfield dominance and command at clearance. 

His eight clearances were bettered only by, you guessed it, Henry Hustwaite’s 11, while 12 of his 25 disposals were contested, he laid four tackles, had six score involvements and six inside 50s.

Last among the Hawks’ named best was Max Ramsden, Playing in his 50th VFL game, ‘Ramma’ booted four goals – two in the first and two in the third – and pulled down 10 marks in his 16 touches for the day. An excellent foil for Lewis, the Hawks’ no.38 was superb on his return to the VFL level.

Others to impress on a great day for those in brown and gold were Ned Reeves and Ethan Stanley.

Reeves was the dominant big man on the ground and gave his midfield first use all afternoon, winning 40 of the 54 recorded hit-outs, getting his hands to five clearances of his own, taking four marks and kicking a nice set shot among his 15 touches.

Ethan Stanley was on pace to record a career-best day when he reached the long break on 16 touches and three goals. The dashing wingman was in absolutely everything in an incredible first half… only to cop a nasty cork early in the third term which put him on ice.

On a near-perfect day for footy at Box Hill City Oval it was Jasper Scaife who gave his side the perfect start, kicking a goal inside a minute of the first bounce.

Essendon’s mid-season draftee Liam McMahon got it back a short time later, before Mitch Lewis kicked the first of five goals for the day, Ethan Stanley roved the tap from the very next centre bounce, ran to 50 and drilled his first and Ramsden followed up just two minutes later with his opener. 

Kayle Gerreyn got the Bombers’ second to give them an interest, but it was short lived.

Ramsden jagged a second, Reeves his first and Stanley arrowed through a beauty of a set shot to hand the Hawks a 33-point quarter time lead. 

Stanley’s third – a trademark running goal on the right – was the perfect way to start the second, but the Dons responded with, arguably, their best spell of the afternoon.

Xavier O’Neill kicked the visitors’ third, before a period of of repeat inside 50s could only yield three consecutive behinds. They couldn’t afford to let the Hawks off the hook and when Mitch Lewis took back-to-back marks and kicked back-to-back goals it’s exactly what they’d done.

Menzie kicked his side a much-needed goal in the shadows of half-time, but the Box Hill lead was a healthy 38-points as the sides went to the rooms.

While undoubtably in a strong position, the points were far from secure. 14 minutes into the third term they were.

Ramsden did what Scaife did in the first in kicking the opener inside a minute, before adding his fourth of the day no long after.

The returning Ben Cavarra, playing just his third match of the year, was a popular goal kicker four minutes later, Scaife kicked a second on the day almost immediately, Will McCabe got in on the act and Mitch Lewis piled on the pain with his fourth – and Box Hill’s sixth in 14 minutes.

Menzie’s second arrived deep into time on of the third term, but was too little too late as the sides headed to their respective huddles separated by 66-points.

Essendon chipped away at that deficit with two early goals – McMahon’s second and Lachlan Monteath’s first – only to see that headway cancelled out by Luke Breust and Matt Hill.

The Noah’s Ark theme of two-by-two continued when Burmeister and McMahon hit the scoreboard in quick succession, only for – you guessed it- the Hawks to answer back with two of their own.

McCabe nabbed a second and Lewis his fifth to conclude the scoring and confirm a 69-point Box Hill Victory. 

The Hawks return to action next Sunday afternoon, travelling out to Williamstown for a tussle with the Seagulls. 

Best: Hustwaite, Scrimshaw, Lewis, Bianco, Anderson, Ramsden

Goals: Lewis 5, Ramsden 4, Stanley 3, Scaife, McCabe 2, Reeves, Hill, Cavarra, Breust

Disposals: Hustwaite 33, Bianco 32, Scrimshaw 26, Anderson 25, Ward 21