The Box Hill Hawks failed to withstand the comeback Kangaroos, falling by two points in a heartbreaking loss at Arden Street Oval on Saturday.  

The Hawks sat pretty at the final change, leading by 31 points courtesy of a four-goal blitz from young gun Mat Walker.  

But riding the emotion of its 150^th year anniversary, and a determined effort to farewell club man Sam Wright in style, North Melbourne slammed home six unanswered goals to snatch a remarkable victory.

Box Hill Coach Max Bailey gives us his review of each AFL-listed player.  

Read: R20 Bupa recovery report

David Mirra (22 disposals, 11 marks, 3 rebound 50s)

“Mizz played to his usual high standards. He spoiled the ball really well as a defender, and then set us up brilliantly when we had the ball. We are getting a lot out of him and Roughy combining in that leadership role in defence.” MB

Marc Pittonet (18 disposals, 7 marks, 29 hitouts)

“Pitto was really strong in the ruck. He’s taking more contested marks than he ever has before. He’s getting shots on goal; he now just needs to convert those shots – that’s the next challenge for him. We got a really strong, even contribution from his across the game. His battle in the ruck against Tom Campbell was a really entertaining matchup to watch.” MB

James Cousins (24 disposals, 3 marks, 6 tackles)

“Cuz had a really good connection with the rucks. He is a guy who likes to hunt the ball and does that really well. He played a good, even, strong game in the midfield. Although North got on top of us later in the game, it wasn’t just him to blame but our whole midfield group.” MB

Harry Morrison (21 disposals, 3 marks, 4 tackles)

“Harry played on the wing. He is someone who has played a bit of AFL footy now, so we are looking for him to stand out at VFL level now. He was really strong with his running patterns and ball use on the day.” MB

Mat Walker (15 disposals, 6 marks, 4 goals)

“Mat had a really good, strong start to the day with four goals. It was more the way he got the goals that was so impressive. He is an 18-year-old in a 25-year-olds body, and I don’t think he realises that sometimes. It was good that he realised that on the weekend and dominated his opponent. But he probably didn’t continue that throughout the game. That consistency throughout the game is always harder for the younger guys, and it’s where we are looking for improvement from him.” MB

Kaiden Brand (9 disposals, 6 tackles, 2 goals)

“Kaiden played forward and had four shots on goal. It was really pleasing for a guy who hasn’t played there much. He gets to back himself in the air and fly at contests, which he did a number of times. He is going to get better from spending more time down there.” MB

Changkuoth Jiath (15 disposals, 6 marks, 4 tackles)

“CJ played in defence. His strength is in the air and backing himself in the air. He was inconsistent with that on the weekend, but we know when he gets that right he’s a very damaging player for us.” MB

Teia Miles (12 disposals, 5 marks, 2 goals)

“Teia played forward, gave us some good pressure and got to the fall of the ball. When he gets the footy things happen, so we just want him to be around the footy more and more.” MB

Conor Glass (20 disposals, 5 marks, 3 inside 50s)

“Glassy played in the midfield. He’s a really disciplined player; if you give him a role, he will play it really well. We know what we are going to get from him. The next step for him is, which he has shown in glimpses this year, is breaking out and becoming a really damaging player with the footy.” MB

Jarryd Roughead (16 disposals, 5 marks, 4 rebound 50s)

“Roughy played in the backline as a change-up for him and for us as well. We wanted to get his leadership down there, and he performed really well. He controlled things by foot, used the ball really well and sees the game really well. He’s a good asset down there for our younger players to have.” MB

Jack Scrimshaw (17 disposals, 4 marks, 3 rebound 50s)

“Scrimma played his first game for Box Hill. It’s exciting that he’s back after missing 10 weeks with injury.  He did some really good things with the footy. He’s another who had some lapses in concentration, which happens after missing 10 games of footy. We are really excited about what he was able to bring in his first game back.” MB

Jackson Ross (9 disposals, 4 marks, 1 goal)

“Rossy started really strongly, but probably faded as the game went on. He had some really clean touches early on, which resulted in Kaiden’s first goal. We are looking for him to continue playing consistent footy.” MB

Dylan Moore (10 disposals, 4 marks, 5 tackles)

“Dylan played his first game back in a month. It was good to have his really strong running ability back. His ability to get from contest to contest was really apparent. He’s just going to get better from getting back into the swing of things. Especially as a runner, missing four weeks is a long time.” MB

Damon Greaves (11 disposals, 2 marks, 3 tackles)

“Damon played back after playing on the wing the past four weeks. He’s more vocal than you think he’s going to be as a younger guy; everyone comes off the ground surprised with how much he talks and directs. That’s a great attribute to have. We are working on his contested ball stuff, but he’s made some really good progression with learning our defensive system. He’s very diligent and very coachable.” MB

Jacob Koschitzke (9 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles)

“Kozzy played in defence as our main key defender. He’s having to step up, which is a great challenge for him. He did that really well. He’s working on getting rid of the lapses in his game, where he can switch off a bit. But he has a crack at everything he does, and we are really pleased with his progress.” MB

Ned Reeves (2 disposals, 1 tackle, 11 hitouts)

“Ned played second ruck after Jon Ceglar was withdrawn from the game. He had a really good start to the game with his contest work. He probably faded as the game went on. But it’s a really good step forward for him, from where he has been this year. He is so new to us and will keep learning and learning.” MB