In its 2025 Qualifying Final, Box Hill went down to Southport by 21 points at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday afternoon.

The Hawks will now have to face Brisbane at Box Hill City Oval this Saturday morning in what is set to be a thrilling Semi Final. 

Speaking about last weekend’s performance, VFL Senior Coach Zane Littlejohn said it was a “disappointing day”. 

However, there were some AFL-listed standouts, as well as high-quality outings from some VFL-listed players. 

Sam Butler (34 disposals, 10 clearances, nine inside 50s, seven marks, seven tackles, four score involvements, four intercept possessions)

“He obviously finished really strongly with 33 disposals. What was pleasing was his contest-to-contest running. As we know, that’s a real highlight of his, so that was a great return. It was a really strong game around the footy for Butsy, he's put in a pretty solid year since he's returned.”

Henry Hustwaite (One goal, 31 disposals, 10 clearances, eight tackles, six inside 50s, three score involvements, three intercept possessions)

“It was a really good battle for Huss. He probably didn't use the ball how he would like to, but still a really solid return against a very mature midfield in Southport.”

Jai Serong (23 disposals, 13 intercept possessions, eight marks, two inside 50s)

“He had the match-up on Hugh Dixon, one of their key forwards, and beat him hands-on. We moved him in the last quarter to try and get some momentum into the game, and ultimately, I thought he held up really strongly even when moving forward to the wing. Like a lot of our guys, he just didn't use the footy how we would have liked. But he was able to repel a fair bit of our offence, which is great.”

Seamus Mitchell (20 disposals, four marks, three tackles, two score involvements)

“He had a really solid performance without being outstanding. Just the 20 disposals. Used it okay, but wasn't his normal damaging self. But, you know, Shammy has had some interrupted weeks, but he's getting back to, ideally, playing some of his best footy. He just got caught out a little bit at times with his transition defensively.”

Cam Mackenzie (20 disposals, nine clearances, five intercept possessions, four tackles, three inside 50s, three score involvements)

“Cam got sat on. It was a great learning for Cam, and a great learning for us as coaches, on how we can help and support these younger players when they're getting this attention. Full credit to Southport, they went with it last time we played, they went at Huss. It's a great lesson for us as coaches, how we can prepare our players, but it's also a great development for Cam to experience that, because no doubt, in his career, moving forward, he's going to get some attention. That’s the player he is and the quality person he is and the attributes he has. It's great respect from the opposition to send someone to you. The thing I loved about Cam’s game is that he just never gave up his effort, he kept trying. That just speaks volumes of the young man he is.”

Bailey Macdonald (13 disposals, four marks, three inside 50s, three intercept possessions, two score involvements)

“Quiet day for Bailey, just his ball handling, unfortunately, just let him down a little bit. But we saw some speed, some dash, which we know he can do, and which really excites us. So hopefully we can see a bit more of that. He had some defensive moments, which were probably not at the level that we expect from him, but what we did see is his strength sometimes with his run and carry. Again, just didn't use the ball how he would have liked to, he went at 56% by foot.”

Ned Reeves (37 hitouts, 13 disposals, six intercept possessions, five marks, five clearances, three inside 50s, three score involvements)

“A really solid game. I thought Noodle was dominant against (Brayden) Crossley, who's obviously a very experienced ruck at VFL level now, was great head-to-head. Noodle was able to get behind the ball and take three contested marks and four intercept marks, which is great to see a big man own the air in that space.”

Josh Weddle (12 disposals, four marks, four intercept possessions, two tackles, two inside 50s)

“We know he obviously made a return, played a half a footy. He had 12 touches, was a little bit fumbly early and that's to be expected. He’s been out of the game since, I think, Round 16 of AFL. Sometimes we think, how's their fitness going to go? Is it going to hold up? It's actually their touch. But he worked his way into the game… he found the footy, which is great. Great to have him out there and ideally putting his hand up for senior footy.”

Bodie Ryan (12 disposals, three intercept possessions)

“Bodie Ryan started okay, but drifted out of the game. Like a lot like a lot of our players, just had moments where they weren't able to stop Southport's momentum just through either decisions or skill execution, but a great lesson for Bodes to take into another final this weekend to make sure that he can halt momentum and just play his role really consistently and do the basic basis of the game really, really well.”

Max Ramsden (Four goals, 12 disposals, eight marks, two intercept possessions)

“He was the dominant big man, I thought, on the ground. He kicked four goals two (behinds), but he should’ve kicked six. He took some really, really important marks in front of the ball, which just gave our boys a lot of confidence to keep driving the footy into him. He was really damaging. Looked very dangerous, to the point where we just left him forward and didn't play him as the second ruck because he was looking so dangerous for us, and a really dominant game from him. He was disappointed with his performance in the last game against Casey, but he bounced back big time and I’m pumped with how he performed, and he showed he can play good finals footy, which is awesome from Rama.”

Will McCabe (One goal, 11 disposals, three tackles, three score involvements, three intercept possessions, two clearances)

“He spent some time on a wing, also spent some time forward late, and probably looked more damaging forward. In all honesty, he had some moments where he would like again, no doubt, but he's not the only one in that boat. Just around some decision-making things, but he's learning the wing role and being confident in that role and his positioning and all of that, and trying to be free of mind just to let him play and develop it. Obviously, in the last quarter, you know, hit the scoreboard. Looked damaging in front of the ball, and actually looked really lively, which is a great result.”

Matt Hill (Two goals, nine disposals, two score involvements)

“Powerful, tough, used his speed. Hit the scoreboard when he got rolling. He's actually so damaging and we saw a bit of that, which is great. He's quick and when he uses that, he's very damaging.”

James Blanck (Seven disposals, five intercept possessions, two score involvements)

“Blancky had the role on Buzza and thought he did the job on him until the last quarter when he got off the leash, unfortunately, but not through Blanck’s lack of effort. He competed hard. Had some really good contest wins as well, and gave us a great fight behind the ball, which we love from Blancky.”

Sam Frost (One goal, seven disposals, four score involvements)

“He started forward, then moved back. His leadership was exceptional. He should have kicked three, he had one goal two (behinds). His versatility, leadership, attitude and buy-in were first-class, I've mentioned that all year. So he kicks three goals, and he's had a very, very good day. But unfortunately, the one goal two, his execution in front of the ball just let him down a bit."

Cody Anderson (One goal, six tackles, four disposals)

“Six tackles from a half of footy. He got a bad corky. He'll be right to get up, though, and continue to play in the following game, hopefully. He’s recovering really well, he’s really tough. His pressure was elite. That's what we played him for this week, to bring that. And he was able to provide that, which was awesome.”

Jasper Scaife (One goal, four disposals, five tackles, five hitouts)

“Quiet game for Scaifey. He hit the scoreboard, but just didn't have really any influence in front of the ball. He was working hard, there's no doubt about that. He probably got a little bit frustrated in his own game, and from that, it led to him getting distracted and not making good decisions. But we moved him into the ruck and he competed really well in the ruck, I thought, gave a really good contest, which is really pleasing. Ultimately, he started to find his footy again, which was good when he got up and around the ball. So great learning for him to make sure that his mentality stays in the game and that he continues to harness what he's good at all game and not let other things distract him.”

…and some VFL-listed shout-outs

Trent Bianco (19 disposals, six inside 50s, five score involvements, five intercept possessions, three marks, two tackles)

“Attitude-wise, he played sort of a different role, but brought in really strongly, did a really good job in that he was able to sort of slip in between the cracks a little bit for us, which is really pleasing. He showed some really promising signs out there.

Kye Declase (One goal, 11 disposals, three inside 50s, two clearances, two intercept possessions)

“It was nice to have Kye Decalse back. He played his first game back, he’ll be better for the run. He was able to get forward late and hit the scoreboard. So yeah, that's pleasing to see him back out there, and we're a better team with him on the ground. So now there’s another opportunity for him to grab this weekend and make sure he leaves his best footy out there, which we started to see a bit of his best footy late in that game, which is great.”