The Box Hill Hawks played out a thrilling draw against Footscray at the MCG on Mothers Day.
The see-sawing contest proved to be a hard-fought match until the final siren, with both sides having opportunities late to win the game.
The Hawks couldn’t quite convert their clearance dominance onto the scoreboard as both sides tied at 12. 12. (84), in what was a fitting result for the Sunday afternoon Curtain Raiser.
Box Hill Assistant Coach Marco Bello gives us his review of each AFL-listed player.
Jarryd Roughead
17 disposals, 5 goals, 7 marks
“Roughy was clearly a standout for us and came in with a really strong and positive attitude. The knowledge and experience he passed on to his younger teammates was particularly evident. It was great to see him taking strong marks and converting with five goals in what was a really strong contribution from him.” MB
Jackson Ross
17 disposals, 1 goal, 7 marks
“Rossy worked his way up and down the ground and found a lot of space on the MCG. There were a lot of selfless traits in his game. He’s continuing to work on his relentless pressure when the opposition has the ball, and we saw examples of that this weekend. He’s becoming an all-round player, not just one who can kick goals.” MB
Conor Glass
24 disposals, 1 goal, 5 inside 50s
“It was Glassy’s fourth week now as an inside midfielder, after previously playing predominantly on the halfback line. He’s learning the craft really well. His hunt on the inside and work rate on the outside is seeing him get his 20+ disposals each week. He really enjoys applying defensive acts for the team and works up and down the ground really hard.” MB
Marc Pittonet
15 disposals, 1 goal, 27 hitouts
“Pitto has had two weeks in a row now where he has heavily impacted the match. This was not only with his tap out work, in tapping 30% of hitouts to advantage, but also having eight clearances – in what is now becoming a real weapon for him. We also saw him go forward and impact the scoreboard which was pleasing.” MB
David Mirra
21 disposals, 4 marks, 4 rebound 50s
“Dave was really strong in the air on the weekend. His convincing spoils, marking decisions and his balance at ground level was very influential. He’s a really strong leader and his communication in the backline to set up the younger defenders is really evident. It’s great to have a general like him back there.” MB
Will Golds
17 disposals, 8 marks, 4 inside 50s
“Will got his share of the footy on the weekend. He’s continuing to work on taking the simplest option on the field. At the moment he is chewing off a bit more with his kicks than we would like. We are asking him to make the simple decisions, and as a very good user of the ball we benefit from that.” MB
Oliver Hanrahan
22 disposals, 3 marks, 3 tackles
“Ollie played a lot more midfield this week. We saw the benefit of that, not only with his touches but his ability to work from contest to contest. He provides a lot of buzz and energy around the ball. He found a lot of the footy, but more pleasingly in the important areas of the ground.” MB
Changkuoth Jiath
17 disposals, 4 marks, 6 rebound 50s
“CJ was able to get back to his dynamic best and looked really strong in the air. His ability to impact multiple contests in the air as a defender was really telling for us. Again his ability to impact at ground level by tackling and corralling was first class.” MB
Ryan Schoenmakers
14 disposals, 7 marks, 5 inside 50s
“Ryan had a large influence on the game with his work ethic, contest work and ball use. His marking was a feature of his game again, and his selfless work inside forward 50 to hit up teammates in better positions was evident over the four quarters.” MB
Harrison Jones
14 disposals, 5 tackles, 3 inside 50s
“Harry works diligently at his midfield craft. He’s a really strong inside midfielder and we love his contested work. He’s really effective at moving through the stoppage and his physicality in hunting the ball was a real feature on the weekend.” MB
Mathew Walker
10 disposals, 2 goals, 6 marks
“Mat was able to again impact on the scoreboard in his second match. He finished with a couple of goals as well as giving one or two away to teammates. As the game went on, he continued to get better and better. He plays with a lot of confidence and backs himself in to go for his marks. We are looking forward to seeing more exciting games from him this season.” MB
Teia Miles
16 disposals, 3 marks, 5 rebound 50s
“Teia continues to be an offensive weapon for us from the halfback line. He’s been really strong in defence for us in continuing to be energetic in negating the opposition and always being first back to assist our other defenders.” MB
Kaiden Brand
10 disposals, 5 marks, 3 rebound 50s
“Brandy is continuing to do the basic things right. He’s taking marks of opposition boot as a defender, which is great to see. He’s continuing to work on his marking vs spoiling decisions and taking the simplest options by foot.” MB
Damon Greaves
7 disposals, 5 marks, 2 inside 50s
“It was a quieter day for Damon. He’s had a really solid month of football and he positions himself really well as a defender. He loves winning one-on-one contests and making strong decisions with his contested marking and spoiling. He’s working on impacting the contest more often and re-adjusting his position when the opposition has the footy.” MB
Ned Reeves
4 disposals, 2 tackles, 12 hitouts
“It was Ned’s first game for the club, and he showed some really good signs. He is obviously relying on his height at this stage to impact the game, but we are working with him to improve his physicality and aggression towards to contest.” MB
Jacob Koschitzke
8 disposals, 2 marks, 1 tackle
“Kozzy had a big task this week playing against AFL players Tom Boyd and Josh Schache. He equipped himself very well in keeping them to three goals combined. He’s a strong lad and uses his physicality to his advantage. He continues to get better every week at learning the Hawthorn/Box Hill system.” MB
Darren Minchington
4 disposals, 1 mark, 1 tackle
“It was Darren’s second week back and he again provided really good energy around the contest. We will be looking to increase his game time and his influence on games as the weeks continue.He’s a very selfless player and his first gives were instrumental to a couple of our goals. He always provides great intent and work rate both offensively and defensively.” MB
Images courtesy of Kadek Thatcher Photography
