HAWTHORN’S younger brigade had a big impact in Box Hill Hawks’ 50-point practice match win against Northern Blues on Saturday morning.
Will Langford returned from injury to be among the best players on the ground, producing his trademark attack on the footy to finish with 25 disposals, six clearances and eight tackles.
Second-year ruckman Marc Pittonet was the game’s dominant big man, controlling the stoppages and also pushing forward to snap two goals from 12 disposals, while Brendan Whitecross put his best foot forward for Round 1 selection with 24 disposals in a four-quarter performance.
The Hawks led at every change, narrowly edging away from the Blues in each quarter to post a 13.15 (93) to 6.7 (43) win.
Pittonet told hawthornfc.com.au it was a strong team performance.
“It was really good getting back out there and having a full crack at it,” he said.
“All the boys were really good out there today, especially as the game wore on, we dug deep and finished the game really well.”
The 202-centimetre big man has had a focus on providing a presence around the ground this pre-season, and he was exactly that against the Blues, either marking it or bringing his teammates into play.
“I really came to the game with a focus on trying to take as many marks as possible, or really trying to bring the ball to ground in contests, and I was pretty happy with how I went about it,” he said.
Among the other Hawks to feature were Dallas Willsmore (20 disposals) and Teia Miles (two goals), while first-year players Ryan Burton (five disposals), Kieran Lovell (14 disposals) and Kade Stewart (18 disposals) were also in action.
