The Box Hill Hawks returned to the winners list on the weekend, as they beat the Northern Blues by 38 points at Box Hill City Oval.

The outcome of the match was barely in doubt following a five goal to one opening term in favour of the Hawks.

See below for coach Chris Newman’s assessment of each listed player’s performance.

Read: VFL match report Round 7 

Kieran Lovell

30 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles, 1 goal

“He had his best game easily this year and one of the better games I’ve seen him play. He really challenged himself with his workrate this week. He got to multiple contests and then, when he was there, he was really impactful. He took it, used his agility and used the ball quite well. He didn’t go forward too much, we tried to get him on-ball a little bit more. He’s probably been one, because we’ve got so many going through there, he’s been one that has spent more time forward than on-ball. We were really pleased with his game.” CN

Jonathon Ceglar

28 disposals, 10 marks, 6 tackles, 28 hit-outs, 1 goal

“Obviously his best game since being back. Probably the standard out thing for him was his clearance work so being able to follow up. Pittonet was a late out, which could have potentially left a huge hole. So, he had his hands full, Cegs, against two quality, competitive ruckmen. He had to shoulder a lot of the responsibility in the ruck. He got himself into good positions to take a couple of contested marks as well. He got through the game, playing 80% game time, and his GPS data was really good.” CN

Read: Could Hawthorn opt for two rucks against West Coast? 

Teia Miles

25 disposals, 8 marks, 2 rebound 50s

“Teia Miles, off half-back, was really creative for us. His ability to use the ball was the stand-out, his efficiency was 92%, which is a really good return from him. He took the game on a bit more and followed up, staying involved in multiple chains to allow us to score. He looked really dynamic off half-back. He just needs to keep mixing his defensive work with his ability to get the ball and create for us.” CN

Dallas Willsmore

25 disposals, 10 marks, 1 tackle

“Another half-back that got a bit of the ball. Usually really damaging by foot, he only went at 57% kicking efficiency in this particular game. But he identified himself that it wasn’t his greatest game by foot but he was still accumulating possession for us and, more often than not, he will hit targets. The thing I liked about Dall’s game was that he got a little bit higher this week and put the ball inside 50 for us on five occasions. Like Milesy, he just needs to work on balancing that out with the defensive stuff.” CN

Brendan Whitecross

24 disposals, 7 marks, 3 tackles, 2 goals

“Whitecross had a good mix between inside mid and forward. He was really strong in the contest, using his big frame to be really hard to tackle. He kicked two goals as well. His leadership and experience we really need with some of those younger guys that are playing. It was good output from him.” CN

Jonathan O’Rourke

21 disposals, 2 marks, 7 tackles

“They paid close attention to him early on. He’s averaging high-20 possessions throughout the year, so he is getting attention because of that. He has been pretty consistent with his tackling each week. In terms of disposals, it was probably low for his standard but it certainly wasn’t a quiet game.” CN

Harrison Jones

18 disposals, 6 marks, 4 tackles

“Harry Jones played half-back on Jack Silvagni. We wanted him to go to someone with a little bit of senior experience. I thought Harry held his own, they actually had a good battle. He would have learnt a lot playing on him. But he also accumulated the ball, he had 18 touches and he took three marks from the opposition’s boot, so he got himself into really good positions. So, he is learning a new role and doing quite a good job.” CN

Tim O’Brien

16 disposals, 6 marks, 4 hit-outs

“Because of Kaiden Brand and Pittonet going out of the team, we needed to try and balance it out. So, T.O. was the backman that we went for because we didn’t have a tall back. The Northern Blues were quite tall at times, especially because they had a spare ruck playing forward. So, Tim played two and a half quarters in defence, reading the ball well, marking the ball well and using the ball well. He looked quite good back and then we threw him forward when we had better match-ups and he presented quite well there too. He didn’t hit the scoreboard but he took a couple of contested marks. We probably weren’t as efficient going inside 50 as we could have been.” CN

Will Langford

14 disposals, 3 marks, 6 tackles

“We wanted him to be primarily on-ball in the second half after being mainly forward in the first. Every time he touched the ball he was influential, using the strength in his legs. He’s another one of those guys that is hard to tackle. He’s a powerful unit. Not the highest possessions for him but he was probably limited by the lesser time he spent on-ball.” CN

Conor Glass

13 disposals, 4 marks, 2 tackles

“Conor Glass played wing for two and a half quarters and then he had to go back and play as a key back, but he held his own there. He is showing some good signs on the wing, using his run and dash with the ball. He is not afraid to defend either. So not a bad return from him.” CN

Olly Hanrahan

12 disposals, 4 marks, 2 tackles, 1 goal

“Olly Hanrahan’s forward pressure was better this week. He is still finding his feet a little bit after coming off a long-term injury. He still has a fair bit more to give, I think. But he kicked a goal, after kicking one last week as well. So, he is still getting opportunities, which is good.” CN

Conor Nash

11 disposals, 3 marks, 2 tackles

“He played on the wing again. So, we’re pretty keen to persist down that path with him. He was OK at times. His sprint zone running throughout the game is quite good and his GPS output is really good. So, it proves that he can cover the grass required to play that position. But his ability to get back and help us defend, have the bigger body around the stoppage and play that sweeping wing has been beneficial for us. So, we will look at whether we use him forward, keep him on the wing, but it is just good that he has that flexibility now.” CN

Ryan Schoenmakers

10 disposals, 4 marks, 2 tackles, 3 goals

“Schoenmakers played forward and had to be our second ruck, he competed pretty well in there despite being under-sized. He kicked two goals in the last quarter to finish with three goals. Every time we get it to him, he looks a class above, which he is. We’ve got to get him better looks and hopefully we can do that this week.” CN

Jackson Ross

5 disposals, 2 marks, 2 tackles

“He showed a bit. He probably had a better first term than anything else. He created a goal for us with another inside 50. He also took a really good mark. So, he just needs to keep showing signs to keep improving at that level. We gave him a bit of a role in the last quarter to play a defensive forward role on one of their backs, which he did quite well. So, again, another little learning experience for him and hopefully he keeps progressing as well.” CN