Box Hill Season 2008

[RustyHawk]

BOX HILL HAWKS MATCH REPORT - ROUND 1
Monday, 31 March 2008

Round 1 at: Austar Arena - Date: 29th of March - Report by: James Ranson

The Box Hill Hawks suffered a heavy loss to North Ballarat at AUSTAR Arena in their opening game of 2008.
The Hawks carried their poor pre-season form into the season proper and never looked like troubling the Roosters in the 70-point loss.

North Ballarat went into the clash with a couple of fresh faces but were without Richmond draftee Tristan Cartledge, who was superb for them all last year.

Meanwhile the Hawks welcomed their four prized recruits to the starting line up in Nathan Batsanis (Port Adelaide), Steve Kenna (South Adelaide), Digby Morrell (Northern Bullants) and newly appointed captain Al Neville (Coburg).
Jarryd Morton missed out as he was listed in the emergencies for Hawthorn.

Last time the sides met, in round 17 of last year, North Ballarat prevailed by 31 points, again at AUSTAR Arena.

It was a typically cool Ballarat afternoon this time around and the Roosters got the jump on the Hawks in the first term, leading by 46 points at the first break.

Roosters forward Michael Wundke did the damage in the first quarter piling on four goals, making the task almost impossible for the visitors.

Still, the Hawks fought on but found themselves 82 points behind at the final change.

They managed to reduce the damage in the final term and walked off the ground with their heads held high.

The Roosters looked like a seasoned outfit while the Hawks will need time to settle, particularly the new recruits.

It was encouraging though to see all four having an immediate impact. Kenna, Batsanis and Neville were among the best for the Hawks and showed what they can add to the side.

Josh Kennedy was easily the best for Box Hill, his work at the stoppages and grunt in the middle was invaluable.

Apart from the impressive Wundke, Jesse Smith looked a cut above the rest for North Ballarat as he took on Hawks players relentlessly and ran hard all day to create.

Eddie Sandsbury was also good for the home side; his defensive pressure was superb as was his disposal.

Sure, it wasn’t the start the Hawks had hoped for but it will take time to turn around the fortunes of 2007.

Barry Mitchell has implemented a new game plan, and naturally, the players will take time to adapt.

It’s an exciting time for the club as the young Hawks develop and the changes to personnel and coaching staff take effect, so get down to the next home game on Saturday against Tasmania and support the mighty Hawks.

North Ballarat: 8.5 / 13.7 / 17.11 / 19.12 (126)
Box Hill Hawks: 1.1 / 3.4 / 4.7 / 8.8 (56)

Goals: Moss 2, Cross 2, Morrell, Thorp, Neville, Renouf

Best: Kennedy, Kenna, Batsanis, Whitecross, Moss, Neville.

The team

Box Hill Hawks-v- North Ballarat

B Grima Dawson Markovic
HB O'Sullivan Sandilands Kennedy
C Hunter Neville Whitecross
HF Dowler Morrell Gibson
F Batsanis Thorp McQueen-Miscamble

R Renouf Kenna Moss

Int Pedersen McEntee
Bull Wright Shore Papaluca Cross

*** Jarryd Morton travelled with the senior team to Perth as 1st emergency ***

[RustyHawk]

VFL ROUND 2





Box Hill Hawks
v
Tasmania


Sunday 6th April
@ Box Hill City Oval


Commences 2:00pm

[RustyHawk]

Match Report: Tasmania v Box Hill
RSSFont downFont largerPrintAuthor: James Ranson
4:24 PM Mon 07 April, 2008

Rnd2 Box Hill Match Report

Sun, Apr 06, 08
Box Hill Match Report
Round 2, Box Hill City Oval
Sunday 6 April

The Box Hill Hawks let slip a golden opportunity as they suffered a gut-wrenching three point defeat at the hands of the Tassie Devils on Sunday.

Last season, the Hawks were only one of two teams to succumb to Tasmania, and the away side took the four points at Box Hill once again.

But it was the Hawks who had the run of the play for much of the match with early misses and skill errors at crucial stages costing the side, what would have been a pivotal win.

Box Hill Coach Barry Mitchell lamented the unlucky loss.

“It was a high possession game and we certainly had more of it but we didn’t use the ball well enough,” he said.

Of the Hawks’ inaccuracy Mitchell was blunt: “The aim is obviously to kick the ball through the goals and if you’re not able to do that then you’re going to make it hard for yourself.”

Such was the Hawks’ inaccuracy in front of goal they trailed Tasmania early in the second quarter having kicked 1.9 (15).

In contrast, the Devils seemed to score every time they forayed forward and built a two goal lead they scarcely deserved.

As the momentum swung in the second stanza Box Hill finally put away their chances away and looked to force the issue.

Beau Dowler presented well taking four F50 marks in quick succession and slotted two handy goals.

His second goal sparked a scuffle with Digbey Morrell at the forefront.

At this stage the Hawks were on top and Tasmania’s approach was becoming rather predictable.

Their long bombs into the forward line were easily picked off by Box Hill who swept the ball away with ease.

Garry Moss’ creative work between wing and half-forward posed problems for the visitors as did Brent Renouf’s bullocking ruck work.

Again it was Dowler up forward who was causing headaches for Tasmania and he helped the Hawks to a 17-point half-time lead.

The game turned into an arm wrestle in the second half. Tassie forged its way back into the contest with three early goals to lead by a point.

Box Hill chimed in with a timely reply just as it appeared to be tiring but it was the Devil’s quarter – a goal on the siren saw them lead by three points.

At the three-quarter-time huddle coach Barry Mitchell urged his players not to clog the forward line and his ringing words seemed to set the trend in the final quarter.

For two of last season’s strugglers the win was crucial. This was immediately evident in the last term with both sides going at each other relentlessly.

Tasmania posted that first crucial goal but Dowler and Mitch Thorp loomed as threats at the other end.

Nathan Batsanis and Tim Clarke were superb through the middle in the last term. Apart from seeing a lot of the ball their second efforts were inspiring.

The tackling pressure certainly stepped up a notch as the game hung in the balance. It was, at times scrappy, but an absorbing contest nonetheless.

A Garry Moss wonder goal lifted the Hawks and the home supporters. After taking the ball on the wing from a dodgy handball, he strode through two oncoming opponents, weaved past another and slotted the goal on his left from a tight angle. The deficit was cut to two points.

In the frantic last minutes the impressive Alexander Gilmour goaled for the Devils for his fifth, regaining the lead for the visitors.

Box Hill had plenty of chances to regain the lead in the dying moments but every time they went forward they coughed up the ball.

For the jubilant Tasmania the reward was an industrious three-point win while for the Hawks it will be a bitter defeat. They will know a victory slipped through their grasp.

Despite the loss there were plenty of positive signs for the Hawks. They dominated possession with 426 disposals to 352.

Tim Clarke was very good with 39 touches while Batsanis (27), Morton (37), Kennedy (29), Moss (30) and Stevie Kenna (32) put in god performances.

Dowler played perhaps his best game for Box Hill; he had 18 possessions, eight marks and kicked 3.4, which could easily have been 7.

Brent Renouf was good in the ruck, he had 19 hit outs while Lukas Markovic was solid down back.

Box Hill once again sided a new-look team but nonetheless relatively strong looking one on paper and Barry Mitchell said he was pleased with the way his new recruits have started.

“Yeah the new recruits were very good, Stevie Kenna was very good, Nathan (Batsanis) and I thought Lukas Markovic was also very good,” he said.

New skipper Alastair Neville (34) was also serviceable and will only get better.

With two losses from two starts the Hawks desperately need a win to kick-start their season. If they can continue the form they showed against Tasmania then it will come.

The Hawks face Casey Scorpions next Saturday night under lights at Casey Fields. Visit the Box Hill page later in the week to read the preview.

Box Hill Hawks: 1.5 / 7.9 / 10.10 / 12.13 (85)
Tasmania Devils: 4.2 / 5.4 / 11.7 / 13.10 (88)

Goals: Dowler 3, Moss 3, Thorp 2, Kennedy 1, Renouf 1, Clarke 1, Williams 1

Best: Kenna, Dowler, Moss, Clarke, Batsanis, Morton, Renouf
Source: for hawthornfc.com.au

[RustyHawk]

Seniors ladder after Round 8

Seniors Ladder
POS TEAM..................... P W L D B FF For Ag % Pts
1 Williamstown............... 8 7 1 0 0 0 1055 745 141.61 28
2 North Ballarat.............. 8 6 2 0 0 0 854 681 125.4 24
3 Sandringham............... 8 5 3 0 0 0 1014 699 145.06 20
4 Casey Scorpions.......... 8 5 3 0 0 0 850 663 128.21 20
5 Coburg Tigers.............. 8 5 3 0 0 0 910 737 123.47 20
6 Port Melbourne............ 8 5 3 0 0 0 907 787 115.25 20
7 Frankston................... 8 4 4 0 0 0 794 720 110.28 16
8 Geelong......................8 4 4 0 0 0 820 829 98.91 16
9 Northern Bullants......... 8 4 4 0 0 0 698 787 88.69 16
10 Werribee Tigers..........8 4 4 0 0 0 765 893 85.67 16
11 Tasmania................. 8 3 5 0 0 0 700 960 72.92 12
12 Bendigo Bombers........ 8 2 6 0 0 0 722 961 75.13 8
13 Collingwood............... 8 2 6 0 0 0 592 888 66.67 8
14 Box Hill Hawks........... 8 0 8 0 0 0 645 976 66.09 0



Reserves Ladder
POS TEAM................... P W L D B FF For Ag % Pts
1 Coburg Tigers............ 6 6 0 0 1 0 957 354 270.34 24
2 Williamstown..............6 6 0 0 1 0 942 402 234.33 24
3 Sandringham..............6 5 1 0 1 0 787 479 164.3 20
4 Frankston................. 6 5 1 0 1 0 706 496 142.34 20
5 North Ballarat............ 6 3 3 0 1 0 648 592 109.46 12
6 Box Hill Hawks............ 6 3 3 0 1 0 546 687 79.48 12
7 Northern Bullants....... 6 2 4 0 1 0 471 643 73.25 8
8 Port Melbourne.......... 7 2 5 0 0 0 545 876 62.21 8
9 Casey Scorpions.........6 1 5 0 1 0 523 731 71.55 4
10 Werribee Tigers........ 6 1 5 0 1 0 458 659 69.5 4
11 Bendigo Bombers...... 7 0 7 0 0 0 390 1054 37 0

[RustyHawk]

Reserves Match Report - Round 7
Monday, 26 May 2008

Box Hill Reserves Match Report
Round 7 at: Burbank Oval – Date: May 24 – Report by: James Ranson

An undermanned Box Hill Hawks lost out to the dominant side in competition in Williamstown by 100 points on Saturday.

Coach Dale Bower described the Seagulls as a “pretty talented side” as they strode to their sixth straight victory without loss.

Williamstown has now won their past two outings by a combined 262 points after dismantling Bendigo by a staggering 162 points last round and has a whopping percentage of 270.

“They beat Bendigo by a huge margin last week and I mean you don’t want to get beaten by 100 points but it actually could’ve been worse than what it was,” Bower said.

The Hawks lost seven players to the seniors and the influential David Marcius through injury.

Bower said the Hawks were competitive at stages but were finding it difficult without the likes of Marcius, Neil, Cross and O’Sullivan.

“It does make it difficult but it’s good to give those blokes an opportunity to step up and that’s what the reserves is all about – to get players performing in the reserves and then see, if given the opportunity, whether they can make the step up and become good senior players,” Bower said.

Despite being outscored the Hawks took it up to Williamstown early on but fell away in the second term scoring just two behinds.

In the third Box Hill mustered seven goals to outscore the Seagulls for that term but the damage had already been done.

“Pedersen was very good for us up forward during that period and took some great marks. George Angelopoulos had a great quarter in the middle, and we started to get our hands on the footy in the middle,” Bower said.

Angelopoulos was a constant presence and racked up over 20 disposals for the match.

Bradley Kelleher filled a number of positions around the ground including stints in the ruck and down at CHB but it was his presence at CHF that impressed Bower. At times he provided a lone target.

Bower also singled out Lachlan Carey for his solid work in the middle of the ground in his first game back from injury.

Bower, although disappointed, remained optimistic on the Hawk’s run in to what will hopefully result in finals football.

“We’ve played for of the top five so next week we’ve got Bendigo and then Werribee who are strugglers so we hope to go into the half way mark at 5-3. If we can win nine or ten games then that will probably get us into the five so that’s what we’ll aim for,” he said.

Box Hill Hawks: 2.2 / 2.4 / 9.5 / 10.10 (70)
Williamstown: 6.3 / 11.10/ 17.16 / 25.20 (170)

Goals: Pedersen, Kelleher, Carey, Angelopoulos, Sinclair, Conyers

Best: Hoegel 2, Pedersen 2, Walsh 2, Sandilands, Philp, Conyers, Smithwick

[RustyHawk]

Hawks outclassed by Gulls
Monday, 26 May 2008

Box Hill Match Report
Round 8 at: Burbank Oval – Date: May 24 – Report by: James Ranson

The third quarter curse struck the Box Hill Hawks again as they conceded a winning position and 10 of the last 11 goals in the third term to go down to ladder-leaders Williamstown by 63 points on Saturday.

Just three minutes into third quarter an Alex Grima goal saw the Hawks lead by eight points before the side capitulated thereafter.

That means Box Hill has been outscored 45 goals to 16 in third quarters this year and is yet to win one.

“It’s about putting four quarters together and it’s a very common catch cry but its very typical of how we’ve been going this year,” Hawks coach Barry Mitchell said.

“When we get a little bit tired, we need to hang on, I’m really not sure what the cause is but it’s something we’ll have to address in the coming weeks.”

“It’s frustrating for everybody, it’s frustrating for the players, it’s frustrating for me, it’s the same thing the last two weeks where we were even at half time and we’ve really fallen away in the third quarter, we just need to persevere for that period of time where we seem drop off.”

The top vs bottom clash was always going to be a big ask for the winless Hawks who extend their losing streak to eight.

It was also a match up between the poorest defence (Box Hill) and one of the meanest attacks (Williamstown) in the league.

There was no breeze to speak of at the usually wind-tunnel-like Burbank Oval making conditions perfect for play.

The Hawks unenviable task of containing ladder-leaders Williamstown was made all the more difficult by the absence of Tim Clarke, Josh Kennedy and Tom Murphy who were all promoted to the Hawthorn side. Nathan Batsanis also went out with a leg injury.

“He (Batsanis) hurt his leg during the week but hopefully with the bye coming up he should be right for our next match,” Mitchell said.

“I think compared to last week our total midfield was out, we had Stokes in there as well as Murphy so that’s six players that we were missing so that’s just the way it goes when injuries come, we were probably left a bit short.”

That the left the Hawks midfield decimated with Rhys O’Sullivan, Matt Suckling and the welcome inclusion of Ryan Breese to pick up the slack.

“We haven’t been able to get as many listed players on the ground as we would’ve liked and I think even today we had (Matt) Suckling, he’s a rookie and Alex Grima, he’s a rookie so of the players we probably only had six.”

Meanwhile former Box Hill and Hawthorn-listed players Matt Little, Steven Greene and Brett Johnson lined up for Williamstown.

Surprisingly, it was the Hawks that took the initiative early on, applying pressure wherever possible and stifling the Seagulls into errors.

The Hawks moved the ball with ease, captain Al Neville, Breese, Brendan Whitecross and Sam Gibson stepped up in the aforementioned players’ absence.

Gibson in particular knocked up getting it; he had 13 disposals in the first quarter while some interesting match ups were posed across the ground.

The talented youngster Brent Renouf lined up against the premier ruckman in the competition to date Peter Street while Mitch Thorp went to Jason Cloke down back and Garry Moss matched up on Johnson.

The Hawks’ slick movement troubled the Seagulls at times and when Beau Dowler took a great grab within the first minute of the second and goaled, the Hawks lead was out to two goals.

The Hawks worked their way around the boundary line with great effect with some of the best link up play this year. The only thing lacking were viable targets in the forward line the crucial last kick in there.

A couple of lucky soccer goals dealt the Hawks a cruel blow as the Seagulls regained the lead.

The nippy David Stretton for the Seagulls loomed as a threat, his pace and ability to break the lines was a constant worry for the Hawks, he had 34 possessions for the game, won best a field honours and set up many of Williamstown’s attacks.

The Hawks had worked so hard but a horrible cross field ball from Joel Cross and a kick out from Neville resulted in two gimmy goals.

The Hawks trailed by 17 points at that stage but a clinical mark and finish from Dowler, his second, and a long goal to Brad Neil cut the half time margin to five points and painted a truer picture of proceedings.

All day Box Hill roved to Street’s dominant tap work and continued to do so, winning the centre clearances in the process. Breese channeled his taps particularly well but in a staggering statistic Street ended up with 40 effective hit outs to go with his 18 disposals, seven marks and two goals.

It was well documented before the game that Box Hill have a history of last half fade-outs and third quarter collapses and you could certainly tell what Mitchell had been stressing in the break.

The Hawks started on fire. The very first clearance landed in Dowler’s mits and he kicked his third and Alex Grima snapped over his shoulder just a minute later to extend the Hawk’s lead to seven points.

Thorp remained on the bench with a strapped thigh while Andrew McDougall and Wayde Skipper’s days’ appeared to have ended with both sustaining serious injuries.

The fact that Williamstown were down to 20 players should have given the Hawks further incentive to push on and out run their opponents however, their resistance was short lived.

Little steadied it for Gulls with a controversial goal (the kick appeared to hit the post) before his side piled on a further four unanswered goals kill off the Hawks.

Dowler slotted his fourth but it did little to stem the trend with Willy slamming home 10 goals in a decisive third term to lead by 44 points at the final change.

Box Hill seemed to tire significantly in the latter stages of the match as their intensity and ability to quash the Gulls run dropped away.

At their best Willy are devastating and they showed that ruthless edge in the last two terms to consolidate their position on top of the ladder.

In the end the Hawks just didn’t have the numbers in the midfield to run out the game, the absence of Kennedy, Batsanis, Morton and Clarke hurt dearly.

Not only that Box Hill made a number of critical mistakes and conceded four crucial 50m penalties throughout the game.

Cross battled hard all day in his best game for the club and snagged a late consolation goal for his constant toiling.

Al Neville provided invaluable leadership and racked up 27 touches while Gibson (28) and Breese (22) showed glimpses of real quality particularly in the first half.

Brad Neil looked at home at senior level; he had 25 touches, 14 marks and kicked a great goal while Kenna worked hard for his 28 and Markovic (14), seven marks and two goals provided some much needed strength.

For Williamstown it was Street and Stretton as mentioned who sparked the Seagull’s third quarter surge and Patrick Rose provided a hard match up for the Hawk’s defence with five goals.

Matt Little managed four goals against his former side but the signs for the Hawks, considering the margin were overwhelmingly positive.

In fact the Hawks dominated the centre clearances winning 22-11 for the match and had more inside 50’s (54-49). Despite those indicators the Hawks still lost by over 10 goals.

It was the Hawks inefficiency going forward that marked the difference, it failed to hit targets and lacked the little bit of class Williamstown had in droves.

“We made too many mistakes and they capitalised a lot more on our mistakes than we did on theirs,” Mitchell said.

“We were pretty good we probably didn’t kick straight early on, I think we were 3.5 or 3.6, our pressure was good but whether we’re not fit enough I’m not sure but I think a lot of our turnovers hurt us again on the way back.”

With only eight listed players at their disposal the Hawks put up a real fight and deserved a better result than they got. If they can regain some personnel in the coming weeks and maintain that type of commitment for four quarters then the second half of the season will be a much more pleasant one for everyone at the club.

Next week is a bye as the Big V face South Australia.

Box Hill Hawks: 3.5 / 7.8 / 11.9 / 13.12 (90)
Williamstown: 2.4 / 8.7 / 18.11 / 23.15 (153)

Goals: Dowler 4, Markovic 2, Morrell, Breese, O'Sullivan, Grima, Whitecross, Neil, Cross

Best: Neil, Markovic, Gibson, Renouf, Neville, Hunter

[noosa hawk mad]

http://hawthornfc.com.au/tabid/4742/Default.aspx?newsid=61539


Match Report: Box Hill v Werribee

http://mm.afl.com.au/Portals/0/article_images_hawks/080616_boxhill246.jpgMatch Report: Box Hill v Werribee, Josh Kennedy




The Box Hill Hawks broke a near year-long winless drought, venting their frustration on the Werribee Tigers as they won 13.12.90 to 11.16.82 at City Oval on Sunday afternoon.

The last time the Hawks won a home and away game was July 8 last season when they defeated Port Melbourne by 38 points.

That set up a tense finish to a thrilling match, with the Hawks fighting back to clinch a memorable victory, after trailing by five goals at quarter time.

They kicked 10 goals to one in the second and third terms to lead by as much as three goals at three-quarter time, but Werribee, led by James Podsiadly, kicked the first four goals of the last term to stun Box Hill into action.

There was a widely regarded argument that the Hawks didn’t know how to win and it appeared they had let a golden opportunity slip conceding a three goal lead at the final change to trail by eight points in the blink of an eye.

But the Hawks side had a steely look about them and you got the sense that despite the Tigers’ charge, they weren’t done with yet.

Box Hill was given a rare opportunity to win, and the players answered the challenge with physicality and a new found resilience.

Hawks coach Barry Mitchell was relieved to get away with his first win in the job.

“Yeah it was fantastic, particularly after our poor start, I think we were six goals to one, I didn’t think we were playing too badly. We were disappointed but not too negative at quarter time and to the boys’ credit they fought back, Werribee came back at the end and we looked really tired but we’ll take that it’s been a long time coming.”

Mitchell was wrapped with his side’s even contribution but even more so with the relentless tackling on display.

“We’ve been trying to get that into our game for quite a while, it comes and goes but it was probably there for a longer period of time today. That’s the stuff that wins you games, I mean there’s always turnovers and errors but tackling wins you the ball back and it can be so crucial as it was today.”

But he denied his half time instructions provided the impetus for the win.

“I don’t think it was anything I said, you know, I’ve been saying the same things most weeks, and most coaches say the same things, I mean today you just talk about really wanting to win and I think that we did that.”

As in past weeks Mitchell threw defender Zac Dawson forward as well as Alex Grima and they provided an effective tandem act yet again kicking the Hawks’ three goals in the last quarter between them.

“We lacked a marking target. Grima plays a bit forward and a bit back and Dawson: we did it last week where we put him forward, it was a bit of a move we go to; he’s more of a defender but he’s quite athletic as a forward.”

The groundwork though, was done in the second and third terms with the Hawks piling on five goals in each.

Steve Kenna copped a heavy tag but looked very ominous forward of centre after quarter time. His crafty play was integral as were three goals and 20 possessions.

The third term - traditionally the Hawks weakest - turned into quite a spectacle as the home side’s sleek ball movement and unselfish play dismantled the hapless Tigers.

Two consecutive long goals, the first from Ryan Breese and the second from the brilliant Brendan Whitecross, sparked the crowd to life.

You could sense the belief amongst the crowd that this of all games pointed to an overdue victory after so many near misses.

As mentioned, Whitecross was superb, playing his best game for the Hawks in picking up 22 touches. His composure under pressure was outstanding and he played a distributing “quarter back” role in the midfield.

Cameron Pedersen (24 disposals) played a huge hand as well, his work around the ground and in the ruck was vitally important with the Hawks only ruckman Luke McEntee succumbing to injury at three-quarter time.

It was the even contribution though that will most please the coaching staff.

Nathan Batsanis (25), Josh Kennedy (22), Matt Suckling (20), Alister Neville (19) and Breese (16) finally gave the Hawks a look of solidity through the midfield.

Kennedy’s return added depth to the midfield as did Travis Tuck’s (19). His absence has hurt the Hawks but Tuck made a solid return laying nine tackles as well.

Joel Cross (19) was another player to impress, for a young, smallish type midfielder his courage and willingness to contest has seen him make a real impression on the senior side.

The only injury concern to come out of the game was that of McEntee. He played no part in the final term and will be monitored during the week.

But with the possibility of him missing next week’s match and Brent Renouf’s elevation, the Hawk’s could struggle in the ruck department. Max Bailey, the Hawks other promising ruckman has missed the best part of a year and isn’t expected back for at least a fortnight either.

Mitchell touted rookie-listed Tim Walsh as a possible inclusion in the seniors next week to fill the void.

The Hawks still sit at the foot of the ladder but could leapfrog Collingwood next week if they defeat Frankston away.

For the timed being, all the players should bask in the win, it was a fantastic effort and well deserved victory, well done Hawks.


Box Hill Hawks: 0.7 / 5.7 / 10.10 / 13.12 (90)
Werribee Tigers: 6.1 / 7.5 / 7.10 / 11.16 (82)

Goals: Kenna 3, Grima 2, Morrell, Neville, Breese, Dawson, Dowler, McEntee, Moss, Whitecross

Best: Pedersen, Whitecross, Tuck, Kenna, Kennedy, Breese


Hawks In Reserve

Garry Moss – 6 touches, four marks, one goal: Very quiet by his standards, kicked a great long goal but did little else.

Luke McEntee – 13 disposals, two marks, 20 hit outs, one goal: Went off in the third term with a suspected leg injury and played no further part in the game. If he misses games it will hurt the Hawks with no viable replacement.

Alex Grima – nine possessions, two goals: Didn’t have an impact until the final term. Judges the flight of the ball well and may feature up forward more often, kicked two crucial last-quarter goals to propel the Hawks to victory. His forward play with Dawson in last quarters this year has been quite interesting to watch. Mitchell has put both forward to successfully pinch hit on numerous accoassions this year, though only in last quarters.

Matt Suckling – 18 touches, four marks, five tackles: Was very good, got in amongst the play and took a couple of big hits. His skill by foot will really aid the side in the latter half of the year.

Beau Dowler – 14 disposals, six marks, one goal: Unfortunately had the ball kicked on his head early on too often or over his head to two loose defenders. It was a defensive sort of game with little quality service getting through to the forwards. In the last he moved into the ruck to cover McEntee and showed great mobility around the ground.

Travis Tuck – 19 disposals, nine tackles: Returned from injury. He is another player who will make the side look a whole lot better with some quality ball use. Lost his spot at Hawthorn with injury but may push for selection when given a couple more games at Box Hill.

Josh Kennedy – 22 possessions, four marks: Wasn’t at his best after returning from Hawthorn but played a solid game. With his influence in the midfield and ball winning ability – a rare commodity at Box Hill – the Hawks could win a few more games before season’s end.

Zac Dawson – eight touches, one mark, one goal. Was rarely spotted in the first three quarters but kicked a goal from a controversial downfield kick in the last quarter.

Brendan Whitecross – 22 possessions, six marks, one goal. Played an outstanding game in the midfield setting up Hawk attacks all day and kicked a classy long goal. Looks like a real player of the future. The Queenslander is growing in confidence and stature ever week and could get the call up at Hawthorn if he keeps up his form.

Timothy Walsh – 17 disposals, ten marks, 20 hit outs, four goals. Played in the reserves and dominating at that level. Managed four goals up forward and still contributed superbly in the ruck. Could be included in the senior side next week.

Max Bailey – Mitchell said he expected him back soon, but would probably miss out next week.