Box Hill kicks off its 2026 VFL campaign this Friday afternoon at the Kennedy Community Centre, in the first game for premiership points at the venue.  

For the second season in a row the Hawks will open the VFL season, this year hosting the Sydney Swans.

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Box Hill finished the 2025 season second on the league ladder, bowing out in a preliminary final to the eventual premiers, Footscray.

The Mustangs are under new leadership for 2026, with former premiership captain David Mirra returning to the nest as Senior Coach, with Stu Horner promoted to Captain.

VFL Round 1

WHO: Box Hill Hawks v Sydney Swans
WHERE: Kennedy Community Centre
WHEN: Friday 20 March
TIME: 12.35pm

View Box Hill’s full fixture details HERE. 

How to attend Round 1

The Hawks first home game of the season takes place at the Kennedy Community Centre, with tickets and car parking passes available for purchase HERE. 

Parking on-site will be limited, parking passes must be pre-booked.

Gates open at 11am, with ball up scheduled for 12.35pm.

Hawthorn and Box Hill members can show their physical membership cards at the gate for free entry. Sydney Swans members can show their membership card for half-price entry.

Please note, tickets on the day can be purchased at the gate through a QR code, however highly encouraged to purchase tickets online beforehand.

Hear from the Coach

David Mirra sat down for an interview ahead of his first game as Senior Coach of the Box Hill Hawks this Friday.

 On the pre-season and practice matches

“It’s been three weeks and three games against some pretty good opposition, we’ve certainly learned a lot about our game. All of our three games have come down to within a kick in the last few minutes of the game and, ideally, it’s not that every week, but it’s given us a great opportunity to hone in on aspects around scenarios, particularly towards the end of the game. But there’s also some really good conditioning that we’ve been able to get into our players. It’s been great to put some VFL players into our games and see their development, and now we’re just excited to have the real stuff start this week.”

On the coaching panel

“We’re getting to learn how each other operate and coach and we’ll continue to build on that synergy as we go through each week. Jase Williams has had a lot of experience in coaching and sees the game really well and I’ve been able to lean on him with a lot. Jason Johannisen, coming fresh out of the game, has invaluable experience and he sees the game really well and he looks after our backs. Liam Tobin was one that we’ve brought back to Box Hill as a former VFL premiership player with Box Hill and he looks after the forwards, and he’s been awesome with connecting both groups and he’s done a great job working with our forwards so far. And then we add Jesse Cucinotta as our Head of Development and Jesse’s been outstanding in that role so far and brought some great initiatives and he’s been awesome having at the track with training too.”

On the AFL-listed Hawks he expects to have an impact

“We’re looking for development from across all of our Hawks-listed boys that play at Box Hill and I think it’s pretty exciting from who we’ve brought into the footy club. Five draftees that we think are all going to add value to the VFL team straight away, they’re all still growing their game and developing, but they’ve got strengths that can translate to AFL footy pretty quickly. So guys like Aidan Schubert, Cam Nairn, Ollie Greaves, so there’s guys there that will be ready to step up and play good VFL footy straight away and as I said they’ll be developing throughout the year and hopefully there’s a debut on the cards at some stage during the season for those lads.”

Players to Watch

Mirra detailed a few new recruits who fans of the brown and gold should keep an eye out for.

Brodie McLaughlin

“Brodie McLaughlin, who’s come across to us from Williamstown. He’s been a spearhead in the VFL for a couple years now and he’s going to be really potent inside our forward 50.”

Sam Sofronidis

“Sam Sofronidis as a defender, I think, will be really exciting in our back half, he’s going to add a fair bit.”

Tom Farrer

“Tom Farrer who’s had a terrific preseason. He’s 23rd eligible still a young player, but he’s shown some terrific signs early on and I think he’s going to have a pretty big season ahead in the brown and gold.”

Hear from the Captain

Stu Horner joined 3WBC’s Ball and All program on Monday afternoon ahead of Round 1. We summarised a few key points below.

On becoming Captain

“Obviously a really privileged position to be in and a really big honor. There's been some pretty special people and footballers, I suppose, in that role previously, and I've learned a lot from the captains I've played under. So yeah, it's really special to be in that position for 2026, mate.”

On David Mirra returning as coach

“Look, anyone who knows 'Miz' knows that he's just such a tremendous leader. So, yeah, it's truly cool to see him in this new role. Obviously, I saw him as that playing leader, and he was captain when I first came to the club and, yeah, he was a pretty, yeah, incredible figure back then. And now to see, I suppose, this new side of him; he's such a good educator, he's able to connect well with the young boys. But yeah, I think one of Miz's great strengths is his ability to motivate the group, and yeah, I've experienced it from a playing point of view and now I'm starting to see it with Miz as the coach. So, yeah, it's really exciting and it's, as I said, it's a cool full-circle moment to see him, yeah, I suppose, continue his footy journey there and take that next step up.”

On Round 1 at Kennedy Community Centre

“We're really blessed to have access to the state-of-the-art facility out there and we're excited that we're playing Round 1 there as well. It's awesome to showcase it to the rest of the competition and hopefully make it a bit of a fortress… We can't wait. It's been a long pre-season and Round 1, that's why we do it. So, it's a tremendous honour to have the opportunity to open the season and to do it at KCC; it's lined up really well for us. So, I know the boys can't wait to get out there, as I'm sure most clubs are similar, but yeah, we're really excited for this season and, yeah, can't wait to get into it.”

Where to watch

The AFL announced a new VFL broadcast agreement which will see Smithy’s VFL matches broadcast across Kayo Sports, ABC, the Seven Network and SEN.

Thus far, Box Hill’s Round 5 clash with Sandringham will be broadcast on ABC, while Round 8 v Richmond and Round 13 v Gold Coast Suns will be streamed via Kayo Sports.

All games will be streamed via the AFL website or the AFL Live app.

The Round 1 match will be available HERE. 

How to follow

You can keep up to date on team announcements, scores, highlights and more via the Box Hill Hawks social channels. Follow via Instagram and X.