The unbeaten, top of the table Hawks welcome the ninth placed Sandringham Zebras to City Oval on Saturday afternoon for the club’s first home game of the 2018 VFL season.
A trio of away trips was followed by a bye, meaning the wait for home ground advantage has extended well into May. As is custom when the two clubs meet for the first time each season, the Blue Ribbon Cup will be contested.
Chris Newman welcomes skipper Andrew Moore back into the fold, with the midfielder having missed his side’s 3-0 start through suspension in the pre-season.
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Moore, who finished runner-up in the Col Austen Trophy in his first season in brown and gold, will only further strengthen a side currently playing some standout football. He’s joined in the squad by live wire forward Billy Murphy, who missed Round 3’s win at Coburg with hamstring tightness.
Tom Maloney has retained his 23rd man status and will play that role for the fourth week running.
Former Box Hill skipper David Mirra is named at centre half back, whilst James Cousins is on a half forward flank at this stage.
In positive news, ruckman Jonathon Ceglar plays his first match of football in 624 days, having ruptured his anterior cruciate ligament representing Hawthorn in Round 22, 2016.
Final teams will be finalised prior to bounce.
ROUND 5 VFL TEAM
Box Hill v Sandringham
Saturday 5 May, 2pm
Box Hill City Oval
B | 50. D Willsmore | 59. K Brand | 10. W Hams |
HB | 42. T Miles | 32. D Mirra | 44. C Glass |
C | 7. A Brolic | 2. A Moore | 51. B Whitecross |
HF | 46. J Cousins | 57. J Ceglar | 66. R Schoenmakers |
F | 3. B Murphy | 39. M Lewis | 45. C Nash |
R | 56. M Pittonet | 60. K Lovell | 52. J O’Rourke |
Int | 18. L Jeffs | 8. V Adduci | 21. L Walker |
1. L Mackie | 9. B Evans | 4. M O’Donnell | |
13. N Evans | 11. B Kilpatrick | ||
23rd | 17. T Maloney |
Ins: D. Mirra, C. Glass, A. Moore, J. Cousins, J. Ceglar, B. Murphy, L. Jeffs
Outs: H. Jones, C. Jiath, W. Langford