Box Hill has kicked off its 2026 campaign with a 36-point win over the Sydney Swans at the Kennedy Community Centre.

VFL Senior Coach David Mirra said it was a teriffic way to start to the season.

“It was a great day for the club as we secured our first-ever premiership points at the Kennedy Community Centre,” Mirra said.

“It was a strong team performance first up; our relentless defensive pressure set the tone, forcing turnovers and allowing us to capitalise on the scoreboard.

“A fantastic way to kick off the new year.”

Mirra provided a summary of each AFL-listed Hawks Round 1 performance below.

Finn Maginness (One goal, 31 disposals, six clearances)

“Great to see Finn back to his best as he was very influential throughout the game winning a lot of contested ball. He showed his ability to run hard and carry the football, linking up with players around him to drive us forward. He had a couple of nice moments where he had some tough efforts. He used the ball well and kicked a goal from a forward 50 stoppage.”

Jack Dalton (One goal, 27 disposals, seven marks)

“Jack played the first half as a high half forward. He has enormous workrate and his GPS data is through the roof, but now it’s translating into his football. He went through the midfield in the second half, and he just runs all day and works the opposition over. He had some really sound midfield craft and won a lot of ball on the inside and the outside and worked hard from one play from defensive 50 to inside 50 to create an opportunity. Been really impressed with the professionalism that he brings to his training already early in his career and starting to reap the rewards on game day.”

Harry Morrison (26 disposals, eight marks, five contested possessions)

“Harry was able to show all the qualities that make him such a good player. His composure withe the ball, making the right decision at the right time created a lot of opportunity for us to score, even when it didn’t look like we were going to. Through his experience, leadership and guidance, he controlled our backline and sets us up into structure well.”

Noah Mraz (23 disposals, 10 marks, 10 intercept possessions)

“Noah stood tall in some massive one-on-one moments. Tasked with minding Hayden McLean, he completely nullified the dangerous forward's influence. His ability to read the flight, intercept and spark the rebound from the defensive 50 was a massive feature of his game. If he wasn't marking it, he was spoiling it through the back of the pack to stop certain goals.”

Bodie Ryan (22 disposals, six marks, three tackles)

“A terrific start to 2026 for Bodie. He had a number of 'save the day’ type plays for us this week. Time and time again, when we looked second-best in a contest, he appeared out of nowhere to either halve the ball or win it outright. What impressed us most was his balance, combining fierce, combative intent with balling winning ability and then elite composure and decision-making with ball in hand. He is a fierce competitor who executes our system well.”

Flynn Perez (22 disposals, six marks, five inside 50s)

“Flynn was very damaging when he got the ball in his hand and in space. He created a lot of drive and run from our backline. Used his kicking ability to break the game open and to link up with our forwards, creating inside 50 opportunities. He was tough at winning contested ball, pressing forward and he brings a lot of leadership and experience to our back six.”

Bailey Macdonald (One goal, 22 disposals, three marks)

“Speed kills, and Bailey has plenty of it. He couldn't have asked for a better start, kicking the game’s first goal just 45 seconds in. We’ve come to expect that elite run and carry from him, and he didn't disappoint, breaking the lines on Friday and putting our forwards in the best positions to score.”

Ollie Greeves (One goal, 21 disposals, 10 marks)

“Ollie enjoyed his first official VFL outing, showing some promising signs. Not only did he find a lot of the football but was clean and tough in the contest and some of his defensive actions were impressive. Ollie also has the ability to mark the football and his workrate around the ground, and a stint forward saw him take 10 marks for the game. He showed his class in the fourth quarter with a one hand pick up and goal which put the game beyond doubt.”

Will McCabe (Four goals, 20 disposals, nine marks)

“Will has had a strong four weeks overall, if you include the practice games. Hitting the scoreboard this week was a nice reward and complimented such a strong game, but he also would have had just as big an impact on the contest even without the goals. He had a high workrate getting up the ground, supporting on defence, laying a tackle and then running hard back toward our goal to provide an option. He took a number of contested marks around the arc and his kicking for goal was clinical.”

Cody Anderson (18 disposals, four marks, four score involvements)

“He’s playing a mixture of forward and midfield at the moment. The pressure that Cody applies to the opposition is a real weapon. Every week he has a moment or two in the game where he chases a player down. He had a big play where he ran for almost 100m just to chase and apply pressure which resulted in a turnover. More pleasing was how damaging he was with the ball and made some good decisions this week to allow us to score. He’s tough with his tackling and was clean below his knees.”

Max Ramsden (One goal, 15 disposals, four marks)

“Max is playing a forward ruck role. Some of his defensive runs to outnumber and intercept mark were a standout. He chopped out a few contests which helped our back six. Max performed a lot of sacrificial type leads which opened space for other forwards. However, was rewarded with a goal off the back of some nice forward pressure.”

Calsher Dear (One goal, 13 disposals, four marks)

“Calsher’s defensive appetite is huge for a young tall. His repeat efforts to help cause turnovers have been a standout over the last three weeks. On the offensive side, he’s a constant aerial threat. He’s still finding that consistency, but with two goals and plenty of "almost" moments, he’s looking very dangerous.”

Aidan Schubert (One goal, 11 disposals, four marks)

“Aidan is a massive headache for opposition defenders due to his size and running power. He worked his tail off to act as a connector up the ground and got himself into plenty of dangerous spots. While he didn't quite stick a few of those marks inside 50 that he usually snacks on, his movement patterns are really coming along and starting to get results in the game.”

Cameron Nairn (10 disposals, five marks, five contested possessions)

“Cam continues to build on his game after missing much of the preseason due to being sidelined. He’s now building his game time and starting to gain further clarity around his role and what that looks like as a forward and win. But has shown some really promising signs through the way he runs, his movement and his ball use. He also took a nice pack mark.”

Matt Hill (Six disposals, four inside 50s, three tackles)

“Hilly attacks the footy as well as anyone and had a big moment early in the game where he crashed a pack and then got back up straight away and laid a tackle and set the foundation for his game. His pressure is enormous and he creates a lot of panic for the opposition which causes turnover. He’s still looking to create more opportunity with ball in hand to win more footy and hit the scoreboard which he did last week against Port Melbourne in our practice game, where he kicked goals.”

Jaime Uhr-Henry (14 hitouts, four disposals, two tackles)

“Jaime competed strongly over the course of four quarters against an experienced AFL ruckman in Peter Ladhams. Jaime won 14 hit outs and was competed strongly in aerial contests and importantly followed up at ground level with tackling pressure. He’s continuing to develop his ruck craft and work to get to contests around the ground.”

A few VFL player shout outs…

Stu Horner (24 disposals, 13 intercept possessions, 11 marks)

“First game as the official skipper, what a game it was. Led the way superbly with outstanding impact defensively beating his man but coming forward to impact and intercept was a highlight. Got involved offensively setting up a lot of our drive from half back.”

Trent Bianco (Two goals, 26 disposals, five marks)

“One of our best players on the day. Clean and damaging use of the footy helped pick apart Sydney’s defence. He hit the scoreboard twice with the highlight coming from his intercept to kicking a goal.”

Will Pewtress (Nine disposals, five marks, four intercept possessions)

“Shout out to Pewy who debuted for the club and his first VFL game. Played as a key defender was played his role well. Has tried a few pre seasons at VFL and missed out on a list spot in the past, but through perseverance and hard work found himself playing Round 1, I love these stories.”

The Hawks will head down the highways in Round 2 to face Geelong at GMHBA Stadium on Friday 27 March from 7.05pm.