Box Hill has suffered its third loss season after going down to Brisbane by 68 points at Fenjiu Stadium, Box Hill City Oval, last Saturday afternoon.

VFL Senior Coach Zane Littlejohn said it was a hard result to take.

“It was obviously a very disappointing day for Box Hill and the way we performed wasn’t at the standard that we try and drive and pride ourselves on,” he said.

“Full credit to Brisbane, they took away our game and beat us around the contest and were a lot tougher.”

“We need to be better and bounce back this week against the Bombers.”

Littlejohn also reviewed the performances of each AFL-listed player who featured on the day.

Josh Ward (23 disposals, seven marks, six tackles, five clearances, five inside 50s)

“Wardy found it (the ball) 23 times which was really pleasing. He had five clearances and six tackles but he was part of the midfield group that got beaten up unfortunately. What we did love about Wardy though was that his effort all day was first class. His running was great and hopefully, our fans are seeing some growth in his contest work which he’s working really hard on. He leaves no stone unturned in his development and he’s working really hard in that space.”

Harry Morrison (22 disposals, 10 marks) 

“Harry was a real leader as always, he found enough of the footy for us and used it reasonably well. His execution at times probably wasn’t at the standard that he would accept and that he would want it to be at. He spent a bit of time across half-back, on a wing and we sort of tried to get the ball in his hands as much as we could to try and generate a bit of offensive power I guess. Solid game from Harry without being outstanding for his standard.”

Henry Hustwaite (22 disposals, 11 contested possessions, seven tackles, five clearances, four marks)

“Henry returned after a couple of weeks out (due to concussion and a bye) and he started the game really well. He naturally just sort of died out of the game as the game went on but had his five clearances and 22 touches. But again, he was a part of the midfield group that unfortunately got beaten up around the contest.”

Finn Maginness (19 disposals, seven marks, five score involvements, four tackles, four inside 50s, three clearances)

“Finn Maginness came back to Box Hill this week and played a variety of roles. He actually got thrown around a fair bit, from half-forward to wing to mid to playing as a defender. His decision-making is probably an area that we’ll look at through the week and continue to get better at for Finn. But his running power was really pleasing.”

Josh Bennetts (17 disposals, five marks, two tackles)

“Josh spent some time up on the wing and up forward. He was pretty solid without being outstanding. The beauty about Josh is what we now know and expect from Josh at VFL level has risen, which is great for him and the development that he’s shown. For him to spend some time on the wing and develop some craft in that space, but also spend some time across half-forward where he links us up really well from our back half to our forward half was really good. He laid some really nice tackles and just provided some general pressure around the contest.”

Bodie Ryan (18 disposals, six marks, six intercept possessions, three tackles) 

“Bodie was solid. He was actually probably one of our better players on the day. He was really consistent probably later in the game when we were trying to put speed on the game. He just had a few little decisions that he would’ve liked to have had again but ultimately where Bodie’s come from to where he is now, we speak about Josh Bennetts’ expectations rising, Bodie’s are too and that’s really pleasing. He’s developing at a nice trajectory. He was asked to play a little taller in defence on the weekend and then was asked to play smaller at times. But what I’m really liking with Bodie is he has started to really get involved with our offence and helping to transition the ball from our defence to our front end, which has been really good. He’s growing and developing really nicely in that space.”

Bailey Macdonald (14 disposals, three marks)

“Bailey had some great running moments where he really used his leg speed. But unfortunately, his execution probably let him down at times when he just didn’t quite execute and finish the play. We know what he can do and now it’s just finishing the product of what he’s able to do.”

Max Ramsden (12 disposals, six hit-outs, five marks, four score involvements)

“Max could have had a great day here. He got his hands to the ball early and was really giving us a good presence in front of the ball, which was great. He’s really putting pressure on himself to perform at a higher level, especially at VFL level, which is great. But we also need to make sure that he understands the path he’s on in terms of development and continue those aspects around his ability. He’s getting his hands to a lot of the footy, but we’ve now just got to get him to start to catch a few of those. He covered the ground really well as we know he can.”

Chad Wingard (Two goals, 11 disposals, six marks, six score involvements, three tackles, three inside 50s)

“Chad was arguably our best player from a Hawthorn perspective on the day. Yes, you look at his numbers and he only had 11 touches, but he kicked two goals. I just thought the way we moved the ball didn’t help Chad, we sat the ball on his head a lot. His work rate to provide an option was very good. He had some moments where he provided some really really strong leadership for our group. I think if anyone was around our huddle at quarter time or three-quarter time, one voice that was really prominent was Chad. When you’ve got an All Australian among your group and they speak, you listen. He was really positive among our group and everything he was saying was really important for our group to learn. It was a great return from Chad, he’s putting his best foot forward to get an AFL recall shortly.”

Denver Grainger-Barras (Nine disposals, three marks)

“Denver had a mixed day. He had some really good contests and some really good moments but he also had some moments where he’s just off and lapsed. That comes back to Denver’s consistency about persisting in effort, persisting in performance and his role because we know Denver can do some amazing things. He had some moments that he would like again where he just didn’t quite get his job done or flew from three or four deep in an aerial contest and spoiled his teammates, so just little things like that. But it’s his second game back, we’ll continue to work with Denver and he works really hard with the coaches to make sure he understands his role and can execute his role each game.”

Ned Reeves (24 hit-outs, nine disposals, six score involvements, four marks, three tackles, three clearances, three intercept possessions)

“Ned started the game really well. I thought he ultimately dominated the hit-outs stat early in the game but the area we’re working on with Ned is just around that next phase of the game. So after his hit-outs, what’s the next phase and his follow-up? He was able to get around the ground, took four marks, and spent some time forward as well so was able to have a little bit more of a presence this week.”

Clay Tucker (Two hit-outs, one goal, one disposal, one tackle) 

“It was a really quiet day for Tuck. He’s working really hard on getting his performance to a level that is consistent at this level. He played the majority of the day forward and spent some time in the ruck as well. We’re spending time to get really consistent now and help him become a consistent player at this level. But yeah, not the best day for Tuck but he’ll work hard and find a way to make sure that when he’s having a day like that, how he can still influence the game. He was able to kick the last goal of the game which is great for his own benefit and his reward.”

Jai Serong (One disposal, one tackle)

“Jai Serong unfortunately got a little head knock early in the game so he came out of the game really early. At our level now he’s one of the players who plays above our level consistently when he’s back at it with us. We really missed him out there for his leadership and his ability to play a role and help with our offence. We wish him all the best with his recovery and hopefully, it goes really smooth for him and we get him back sooner rather than later.”

…and some shout-outs for some VFL-listed players

Stuart Horner (17 disposals, nine intercept possessions, five marks, three inside 50s, three score involvements)

“Stu was arguably the best Box Hill player. He was predictable in his role and we had a lot of unpredictability within our group on the weekend. But one thing that was predictable on the day was Stu in getting his job done and understanding his role to a tee. He’s ended up with 17 touches but did a role on Daniel Lloyd who kicked three goals the week before for Brisbane and I thought he did a really good job in that space.”

Jye Peacock (Nine disposals, four tackles, three inside 50s, two score involvements)

“Young Jye Peacock played his first VFL game. He’s an ex-Eastern Ranges product. He only had the nine touches but held himself in really good account with four tackles and three inside 50s for his first game. One of the things we asked of the whole group was their effort and he’s one boy who could definitely walk off and say he gave his 100 per cent effort for the whole day.”

Littlejohn and the Hawks now turn their attention to Windy Hill where they will face Essendon on Sunday afternoon.

“Hopefully this is not a trend (the loss) and we can bounce back this week and continue to find some real consistency in our performance and put a better performance forward this week,” he said.