Box Hill wrapped up its pre-season campaign on Saturday, defeating Werribee by 15 points at Avalon Airport Oval.
Exceptionally blistery conditions ensured a low scoring affair, as the match proved to be an arm wrestle up until three-quarter-time.
However, it was the Hawks who ultimately used the ball better in the pressure moments, with a four-goal-to-one final term surging them to victory.
Box Hill Hawks Coach Max Bailey has reviewed the performances of each of the AFL-listed players who took the field for Box Hill on the weekend.
Daniel Howe
“Daniel Howe played inside mid for three and a bit quarters and was really strong in all of his contests. He worked really hard up and down the ground. He did everything we asked of him, so we were rapt with his performance.” MB
Jackson Ross
“Jackson Ross had plenty of crumbing opportunities. He needs to work on his ball security as he cost himself a few shots on goal that way, but he’s getting into some really good spots, and it’s probably only a matter of time before he gets a few shots on goal that way.” MB
Mitch Lewis
“Mitch played up forward and a little bit in the ruck. He jumped really well at the ball, took some good contested marks and provided a really strong forward presence for us. It was a windy day so it was tough for all the talls, but he attacked the ball in the air well and had some strong tackles at ground level so we were really pleased with him.” MB
Marc Pittonet
“Pitto won the ruck battle but wasn’t his usual convincing self, probably because of the wind and how much that affected him in marking contests. But he laid some really strong tackles and had some great follow up, that’s what we’re asking of him at the moment and he’s delivering that consistently.” MB
Conor Glass
“Conor played midfield for the second week in a row after playing backline for most of his career. He’s learning a new craft, but he’s getting himself into really good positions. He just needs to work on a change of mentality playing mid as opposed to playing back, now he has to go and get the ball himself but I think he’s going to do some really good things in the midfield.” MB
Will Golds
“Will Golds played on the wing all day. He had some shots at goal from his good gut running. He’s still working on how to play the wing in our system, but he’s learning really well and knows how to find the footy so we’re pleased with him.” MB
David Mirra
“David Mirra reacted really strongly after getting dropped from the senior side. He won all his aerial battles and helped control things down back on a tough, windy day. His leadership, his marking, his attitude coming back was all really good.” MB
Tim O’Brien
“Tim O’Brien played back as well. He was a little bit quieter, but when we needed to win the game in the last quarter he stood up with some good contested marks, and then pushed forward and had a couple of shots on goal. His versatility is pretty important for us.” MB
Teia Miles
Teia Miles was a bit quieter by his standards but is still a real instigator for us in terms of offence, he’s still working on the defensive side of his game and making himself harder to play against, but we want the ball in his hands.” MB
Changkuoth Jiath
“CJ attacked the ball really well in the air and on the ground. He’s starting to put some things together to become a really good rebounding defender. His strength is in the air, we saw that a number of times on the weekend. He’s still working on his decision making with ball in hand, but he’s heading in the right direction.
Kaiden Brand
“Kaiden was really strong at full back. He marked a lot of footballs off opposition boot, and he controlled things really well in the back line so we were really pleased with him.” MB
Damon Greaves
“Damon is still learning his back craft. He’s extremely coachable and really eager to do well. He’s working on learning our defensive system, but in terms of beating his man, he’s doing that really well and is now looking to add a offensive element to his game.” MB
Jacob Koschitzke
“Jacob played just over three quarters in only his second game back after missing a lot of the pre-season, so he’s coming from a bit further back from the other guys. But he had a really strong first quarter with some good marks and good contests. He faded out a little bit after that, but he’s only going to get better. We’re seeing some good signs from him.” MB
Images courtesy of Kadek Thatcher Photography
