It was another thriller finish from the Box Hill Hawks yesterday afternoon, coming from behind late in the final term to come out winners by seven points. 

To make the victory even sweeter, the Hawks were sporting the classic Box Hill guernsey to honour the inaugural Box Hill Hawks Hall of Fame members, who were inducted yesterday. The replica of the classic guernsey paid homage to the Mustangs of past, and our boys sure showed that ‘Stanga spirit when it was needed most. 

The last time Box Hill beat Werribee was Round 14 of the 2017 VFL season, with Werribee taking the win in the five meetings since then. But today the Hawks got the W over the team sporting the big W, after an exciting tussle of a game. 

It began with a relatively low scoring quarter in the blustering winds at Box Hill City Oval. Werribee booted the first goal, followed shortly by one from Hawthorn’s Liam Shiels who was back in the Box Hill line-up and had quite a game. 

Werribee then slotted the next two majors before Fergus Greene put his first (of what would be a bag of goals) on the board for the afternoon. Werribee led by one goal three at the first break. 

The second term saw the Hawks kicking with the breeze towards the Whitehorse Road end of City Oval, using it well to our advantage. We dominated the inside 50s for the quarter, 17 to nine – Scoring on 11 of those occasions, albeit only two majors.

Both of which came through Greene who goaled for his second just two minutes into the term, before a the third went through roughly ten minutes later. The Hawks took a five-point lead into the main break. 

Come the third quarter, the Hawks again scored first of the term, with a goal from Jai Serong. From there it was largely dominated by Werribee who managed four goals and six behinds (three rushed) before our next goal, through Fergus Greene with his fourth. 

Spirits were high in the huddle at that final change, despite trailing by 16 points. Werribee had control of the ball early in the fourth with a few behinds and a goal from Oliver Hanrahan, with his third for the afternoon. From there the Hawks managed another goal from Shiels who booted his second, followed shortly by one from James Parsons, a phenomenal goal at that. 

There was another from Werribee to make it a 20-point lead for the visitors, but the Hawks weren’t quite done yet. In what was the beginning of the comeback, Jaylon Thorpe took one of his signature cracking marks to go back and slot a perfect set shot, sparking some late momentum for the Hawks. 

We put a couple of behinds on the board, before Greene managed a fifth goal to make it just a six-point deficit. The team understood what had to be done and do it they did. 

There was another behind scored for the Hawks before star small forward Ben Cavarra pulled off a masterful cross-body snap mid fall to put the Hawks ahead by one point at the 28-minute mark of the quarter. 

Not a minute later, Fergus Greene again kicked a sealing goal at City Oval to make his sixth major for the day and extend the Hawks lead and winning margin to seven points. 

It was an impressive comeback and team effort from the Hawks, to bump us back inside the top eight after Round 17. And of course, a fitting way to honour the club’s history and inaugural Hall of Fame inductees on a special day for the club. 

Hawthorn’s Tom Phillips was named the Hawks best afield after a stellar performance and a role well played. Phillips finished with a team-high 28 disposals and 12 marks, and also managed an equal-best six clearances. 

If you’ve made it this far into the article, you won’t be surprised to learn that Fergus Greene was second-best on ground for the Hawks after his six-goal haul, with a big day at out on the home deck. Greene is now just two goals away from his 100th VFL goal. 

In his first appearance with Box Hill since Round 8, senior-listed Liam Shiels also gave a commendable performance earning him a spot in the best players. He finished with two goals and was the second-highest disposal getter for the Hawks with 27. 

Hawthorn’s Emerson Jeka against played out of the backline yesterday afternoon, proving a strong force in defence. With intercept marks and second efforts, Jeka played his role well. He finished with the third highest number of disposals and kicks for the Hawks, with 20 and 15 – One of the Hawks best on for the day. 

Also in the best players was Brady Grey, another man with a role to play and one he did well, lining up in defence for most of the day. Grey received high praise from Senior Coach, Clint Proctor post-match for the role he played for the team. 

To round out our best players is Hawthorn’s Max Lynch, who got his first win with Box Hill. Lynch was instrumental out of the ruck dominating the hit outs, he managed 42 individually allowing the Hawks to lead that stat, 51 to Werribee’s 28 for the game. 

The Box Hill Hawks will now look to next weekend for our Round 18 clash with the Northern Bullants on their turf, at Preston City Oval. 

Best: T Phillips, Greene, Shiels, Jeka, Grey, Lynch. 

Goals: Greene 6, Shiels 2, Cavarra, Parsons, Serong, Thorpe. 

Disposals: T Phillips 28, Shiels 27, Mascitti 21, Jeka 20, Howe 19, Beasley 15.