Box Hill’s VFL Women’s side have claimed their second win on the trot and their first on the road as they dismantled the Cranbourne Eagles by 20 points at Frenken Homes Oval.
After scrapping their way to their inaugural win over the Seaford Tigerettes, the Hawks were in superb touch against the Eagles. In a match marred by windy conditions, Box Hill showed poise and adaptability over their more seasoned opponents and had the match in their grasp long before the final siren. It was sweet revenge for Cranbourne’s narrow win in Round 4 – proof of the improvements made by this playing group.
The Hawks won the toss and were kicking with a strong north-westerly pushing slightly in their favour. Kristy Stratton took a strong mark in the square to give her side the quarter time lead but it wasn’t until Emily Gilder and Gabrielle Mahoney slammed through goals into the wind in the second quarter that the Hawks took the match by the throat.
In a repeat of their Round 4 head-to-head, Chantella Perera was tagging Eagle star Bianca Jakobsson while Pip Peschke was nullifying the dangerous Kirsten McLeod and rebounding off half-back. Jayde Van Dyk’s and Sarah Goode’s ferocious attack on the ball was repelling the Eagles’ advances. With Box Hill bringing numbers to contests and linking well out of clearances, the margin ballooned out to 22 at the main break.
Cranbourne’s offensive set-up improved in the third quarter and they began to put pressure on Box Hill’s defenders. However, the Hawks showed cool heads under the pump as Stratton, Joelle Metres and Rosie Dillon intercepted time and time again. When Box Hill broke over the top for Gilder to slam through her second the margin was 28 and victory was within grasp for the visitors.
Although Cranbourne finally got on the board when Bridie Kennedy converted from a free kick, they were never in the hunt in the last quarter. After being moulded and hardened by a long run of tough losses, the Hawks weren’t interested in letting the win slip and maintained their discipline right up until the final siren.
Patrick Hill lauded his player for securing “a win on our terms”.
“This was the sort of win that we’d been after. We wanted to play the footy we play and let the result take care of itself.”
“We really went out there to play some attractive footy and we used the analogy of two boxers; one tries to make the fight, the other defends. We really wanted to go out there and make the fight today.”
Box Hill will look to make it three in a row when they host the Geelong Cats next Saturday from 10.30.
Cranbourne 1.0.6
Box Hill 4.2.26
GOALS: Emily Gilder, Kristy Stratton, Gabrielle Mahoney, Rosie Dillon
