The Box Hill Hawks withstood an almighty scare to claim a memorable 9-point victory against Geelong at Box Hill City Oval on Saturday.
The Cats came back from 29 points down halfway through the third term, to boot five goals and steal the lead in the dying stages of the final term.
But a herculean effort from Jon Ceglar, and clutch extra-time goals from Nathan Boucher and Jackson Ross ensured Box Hill kept its unbeaten record at home this season in another thrilling chapter of the Hawks and Cats rivalry.
Development Coach Torin Baker was pleased with the team’s performance and gives us his review of each AFL-listed player.
David Mirra (13 disposals, 7 marks, 2 tackles)
“Dave has been a super consistent performer for a long period of time at VFL level. He was able to outpoint his opponent a couple of times and take some good marks, but his ball use out of the back half was really strong as well. He was certainly able to cut off leads and own dangerous space which we were really pleased about.” TB
Grant Birchall (19 disposals, 10 marks, 2 rebound 50s)
“Birch had 19 possessions at 100% efficiency in his first full game. We know he’s a really clean user off the half-back flank. He outpointed his opponent a couple of times as well.” TB
Kaiden Brand (14 disposals, 6 marks, 1 tackle)
“KB has set super high standards for himself at VFL level. He probably wasn’t at the highest of standards he’s been, but he still played his role and impacted at certain times when we needed him.” TB
Jacob Koschitzke (4 disposals, 1 mark, 1 rebound 50)
“Geelong had a tall forward line, so ‘Kozzy’ had some good match-ups there. His physicality was excellent, and he really stood up as a young player against more experienced forwards. We will look for him to win more of the ball himself over the coming weeks.” TB
Teia Miles (22 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles)
“Teia brought us great drive and energy from defence, as he has continued to do all year. He had some excellent defensive efforts and was able to help cause turnovers. It was a pretty strong game overall from him.” TB
Jonathon Ceglar (23 disposals, 10 marks, 46 hitouts, 1 goal)
“Cegs came back to us this week from AFL level, and we thought he was easily the standout player on the ground. He was able to give us first use and give us a good stoppage result. His marking around the ground was excellent. He was an outstanding target for us all day.” TB
Harry Jones (21 disposals, 9 tackles, 9 clearances, 1 goal)
“Harry has now put together a really strong month of football and continued his outstanding form. He is now winning more of the ball. He’s always been hard and strong at the contest, but he’s now creating some real damage with his game.” TB
James Cousins (22 disposals, 8 tackles, 8 clearances)
“I thought Cuz was really good around the contest and the stoppages. He had some real impact, and as a consistent performer, he has now impressed in three games back at VFL level.” TB
Harry Morrison (20 disposals, 6 marks, 5 tackles)
“Harry continues to run team first patterns for us. He plays a crucial role, and it was a really selfless game from him. His aggressive running patterns really helped us out across the entire day.” TB
Jarryd Roughead (16 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal)
“Roughy played like a real leader again at our level. It was mainly in the relentless facet of the game - if he wasn’t marking the ball, he’d be bringing it to ground. His efforts at ground level to hunt the ball and opposition were excellent. It was a strong game from Roughy.” TB
Jackson Ross (11 disposals, 2 goals, 4 inside 50s)
“Rossy had a quieter start but worked his way into the game really well. He ended up having five shots on goal, for two goals. We thought he had a really good contribution in the end and he certainly played the role we asked of him.” TB
Will Golds (13 disposals, 6 marks, 1 goal)
“Goldsy returned to play on the wing this week. He was involved in some plays where he was able to give us good forward 50 entries. His running patterns were good, and we are working with him to make them even better as a wingman.” TB
Darren Minchington (11 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal)
“Darren’s work rate was excellent. As a high forward, his pattern running, intensity and pressure around the contest was as good as we’ve seen. We are enjoying the fact that we are getting continuity from him and we are seeing some good signs from his game.” TB
Mat Walker (8 disposals, 3 marks, 1 goal)
“Mat competed really well all day. He had some hits and misses with his ball use. However, he kicked a really sharp crumbing goal and was able to bring the ball to ground in aerial contests, which was really pleasing. There were some good signs from Mat.” TB
