Box Hill moved closer to a finals berth on the weekend, accounting for Geelong by 43 points. 

Find out what Hawthorn Development Coach Andy Otten had to say about each of the AFL-listed Hawks who featured in the game.

Daniel Howe (29 disposals, 5 marks, 4 tackles, 4 clearances)

“Howey had 29 touches playing on-ball for us and he was outstanding. He played his role for us all day, was strong over the contest and led the way in that area. He had three centre bounces clearances as well, so he built a good connection with Lynchy in the ruck.”

Jack Saunders (25 disposals, 11 marks)

“Jack continued his excellent late season form, playing mainly as a high half forward and a little bit on the wing as well. He was able to gather 25 touches and have a really strong influence on the game, especially in the forward half for us. He also took 11 marks, so he was starting up a lot of plays for us. He had a fair few shots on goal and finished with one goal. We were really happy with how he performed this game.”

Ned Long (19 disposals, 6 marks)

“We were really happy with Longy’s game. He played on the wing all day – part of Longy’s development these past few games has been learning the wing patterns, getting a feel and understanding of it, and he’s doing that really well. He has been able to hold his balance, knowing when to impact and when to hold out. The more he’s getting comfortable with that, the better he’s looking. He had 19 touches and six marks, he got a few switch kicks out to his side of the wing which is great to see. He had a good balance of three inside 50s and three rebound 50s, so his work rate to get up and down the ground has been a real strength of his.”

Max Lynch (17 disposals, 4 marks, 22 hit-outs, 1 goal)

“Lynchy had a really good battle in the ruck with the opposition. He finished with 17 touches, 22 hit-outs and six of his own clearances, so his follow up work was really good around the contest. He was able to get a fair bit of the ball centre forward, he had six inside 50s for us, which is a great sign. He kicked an absolute ripper goal as well, which was great to see.”

Sam Butler (13 disposals, 1 goal)

“Butsy came in for his first game in quite a few weeks as well. He ended up with 13 touches for us playing as a high half forward. I really liked his first quarter, I thought he looked really dangerous. He probably went a but quiet in the second and third, and then in the last quarter we threw him on-ball. He looked really lively, his tackle pressure is always pretty high.”

Max Ramsden (1 goal, 9 disposals, 5 marks)

“Rama’s still developing really nicely for us, and we’re really happy with how he’s going. He has shown a good combination of up forward and in the ruck. He’s took a few nice marks this week – five marks for the game is a really, really good sign for him.”

Kyle Hartigan (10 disposals, 5 marks)

“It was Hartigan’s first game for quite a few weeks. He looked really good back there, he was able to set us up with his voice and communication. We wanted Harto to get into more contests, and he definitely did that with his strong body in a fair few aerial contests. It was great to see Moose do his job back there.”

Jackson Callow (6 disposals, 6 marks)

“Callow played a real strong role for us in this game on Esava Ratugolea for Geelong and he was tasked with curbing his influence on the game. Callow battled really hard all day, he took six marks as well, so he was able to get used a little bit when going forward.”

And the Box Hill standouts go to…

Fergus Greene

“Fergus was the most dominant forward on the ground this week, he had five goals, eight marks and looked super dangerous inside our forward 50 all day. Credit to him and his work rate in the forward half.”

Cal Porter

“Cal is a bit of a warrior for us, he’s been in excellent form all season really. He had 29 touches for us including 10 clearances and three tackles. He brings such a great spirit and energy to this team – he’s the glue – and has such an infectious personality.”