VFL Senior Coach Zane Littlejohn sat down to discuss Box Hill’s upcoming home Elimination Final and the importance of a one-club approach across the VFL and AFL programs.  

Littlejohn spoke to the VFL side’s season to date as it prepared to embark upon a finals campaign following a 12-6 record.

“We’re really happy with that we’ve been able to achieve to this point,” Littlejohn said.

“A bit of a different season probably to my first year where our Box Hill listed players in my first year were quite healthy, this year we’ve experienced a bit more on the injury front.

“So we’ve relied a little heavier on our AFL-list, who have been exceptional with the way they’ve bought into the program when they’ve come back and contributed really strongly.”

The Hawks will take on Williamstown in Saturday’s Elimination Final.

Box Hill recorded a 22-point win the last time the two teams met back in Round 18, but Littlejohn expects their opposition would have learned plenty from that loss.

“I think even from talking to Plappy (Justin Plapp, Williamstown Coach) post that game, he was obviously really disappointed in with the way their midfield started that game,” he said.

“So I guess we expect a really tough outfit, I was lucky enough to watch them play last week and their midfield were the real barometer for them, getting the ball forward and we know they’ve got some extremely dangerous forwards in their front end and their back end has got some talent as well.

“They’re a really proud footy club and we’re very lucky we’ve got Andy Collins in our building who spent a lot of time at Williamstown himself and he knows how proud of a football club they are and he’s spoken to our club about that this week.

“We expect a really fierce contest, which is going to be exactly what we want it to be a finals-like game.”

While Littlejohn says everyone will need to play their roles on Saturday, he's highlighted two Hawks for fans to keep an eye on this weekend.  

“One I’ll shout out is Jake Arundell from a Box Hill perspective. Since he’s come back into our group, what he’s been able to provide with his work rate, his ability to link up our back end to our front end and really energise our ball movement has been exceptional,” Littlejohn said.

“So shout out to him and I think for our fans to watch him and continue to see his development would be good.

“And probably another player from an AFL perspective, I thought last time we played this group Max Ramsden was really strong.

“Max’s had a really good year, been really consistent at VFL level and almost for a lot of the year played above the level which is really exciting. Now this is another challenge, it’s a final, he played really well them against them like you mentioned in Round 18 so the challenge now is can he do it again.

“And arguably they’re going to be better prepared for him so it’s a great challenge for his football journey to look to stand up and ideally contribute as well.”

This marks the second consecutive finals series for the Box Hill Hawks under Littlejohn.

“It’s great and when I first got this job, I work in the development space at Hawthorn and I’m a firm believer that winning is part of development and I’ll never hide behind that fact,” he said.

“I think that’s really important that we want our listed players to obviously learn how to win.

“I’ve spoken to our Box Hill and obviously Hawthorn players who have played at VFL level this year, I don’t think we can undervalue the role that they’ve played in helping our AFL group continue to improve.

“I think it’s really important because they’re playing good footy, so the cliché it makes the above have to play well to keep their spot and I don’t think we should undervalue the role they’ve played in that and I know Sam’s (Mitchell) been really vocal to the playing group around this being a squad effort, the improvement’s not just for the 23 that run out for the AFL team.”

The VFL Elimination Final kicks off a big week of Hawks football.

“We love the support and it’s a nice weekend, there’s no men’s AFL team playing on the Saturday or Sunday, so an opportunity to come down and see a few AFL-listed boys there playing,” Littlejohn said.

“And then obviously on the Sunday we can get to the AFLW and support them, so it’s a great weekend for footy.

“And then it gets even more exciting the following week, hopefully having all three teams playing again.

“We love our fans down at Box Hill, we call it the home of footy for a reason and we hope that we see lots of fans down there.”

First bounce at Box Hill City Oval is from 3pm. Tickets can be purchased HERE.

Watch Littlejohn's full interview below.