THERE was no doubt a nervous moment or two for Box Hill Hawks Coach Marco Bello on Saturday.
At one stage his side led its preliminary final clash against Sandringham by five goals.
Late in the final term, the Zebras hit the front for the first time all day.
But the Hawks hit back, with a goal from midfielder Will Langford in the 28th minute securing a third consecutive grand final berth.
Bello said it was no surprise his side knew what to do when the contest was at its most ferocious.
“We’ve trained and been in those sorts of scenarios throughout the year,” he said.
“It held us in good stead, being in those scenarios through the year, to be in that situation in a preliminary final where it all counted. The boys just went back to their natural habits, and what they learned they put into effect in those last three minutes and we were able to hold on.
“For us to be able to withstand their surge, repel back the other way and hit the lead, then with Langers goal late in the game, to be able to hold on comes down to a lot of work that we’ve done to put ourselves where we can win finals football and tight games.”
Bello said his side had focused on getting off to a fast start – which proved pivotal in the end.
“We knew we wanted to start well… with Sandy, we knew that they were the best second half side in the competition, hence why we wanted to put a lot of scoreboard pressure on in the first half,” he said.
“Kicking 5.6 from I think 20 entries in the first quarter, had that been 7.4 or 8.3 it could have quite easily been a bigger challenge for Sandy.”
While Bello admits “it could have quite easily gone the other way when Sandy hit the lead,” he’s confident the match will hold the Hawks in good stead for next week’s grand final against Williamstown.
The Hawks’ coach praised his side’s effort right across the board.
Forward James Sicily finished with three goals, and Bello said he “could have quite easily finished with five or six,” while Jonathan Simpkin was effective through the midfield with another 34 disposals.
Bello also commended ruckmen Marc Pittonet and Sam Collins, as well as defenders Matt Spangher and Kurt Heatherley.
The VFL grand final will be played at Etihad Stadium from 3pm on Sunday.
The news was not as good for the Hawks’ development side, who lost their grand final to Williamstown under the “golden point” rule.
Scores were tied at 8.12 (60) apiece at the end of four quarters, with a Seagulls’ behind getting them over the line.
Hawthorn rookie Lachlan Langford was named among the Hawks’ best, while fellow rookies Jared Hardisty and Jermaine Miller-Lewis also featured in the development grand final.
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