The Box Hill Hawks played part in arguably the VFL game of the year on Saturday, as the side fought hard for four quarters to eventually draw with Port Melbourne when the final siren sounded.
Senior Coach Chris Newman reviews each Hawthorn-listed player's performance in the unforgettable clash.
Will Langford
30 possessions, 6 tackles, 3 goals
“He was terrific on the day, he used his speed a lot out of congestion and he was involved in everything really. He had 30 possessions and 20 contested possessions and ended up kicking three goals and one behind. His pressure acts were also right up with his six tackles, so he was everywhere and he was terrific throughout the day. We won clearances on the day and he was one of the key reasons why with his ten clearances.” CN
Read: Langford finds positives in VFL draw
Kade Stewart
25 possessions, 4 marks, 5 tackles
“Stewart also played a strong game with 25 disposals, 13 of which were contested. He went forward a bit and on-ball, but his workrate was outstanding. He was another one who contributed to the clearances, with his six clearances and five tackles. He probably had a better second half than first half so he finished really strongly. He also kicked three behinds on the day, which, I think, were all in the last quarter, so he looked like he was going to pinch the game for us at one stage.” CN
Harry Morrison
24 possessions, 9 marks, 4 tackles
“Harry Morrison had a really good game with 24 disposals. He took a couple of marks from opposition boot, so he reads the ball really well and defends really hard. His GPS numbers every week are really high, so his workrate is high. He used the ball well, going at 92% from his 24 disposals, which is a great effort. He had a really balanced game.” CN
Billy Hartung
20 possessions, 2 marks, 5 inside 50s
“Billy Hartung worked really hard all day. He played predominantly wing but also went inside a little bit. He had 20 possessions, so he got a solid amount of the footy. He had five inside 50s and provided a real drive for us going forward.” CN
Kurt Heatherley
17 possessions, 6 marks, 1 tackle
“Heatherley competed really hard and found the footy a bit with 17 disposals a good return on him. Did a pretty solid job when he played on (former Hawk Jordan) Lisle. It looked like Lisle was going to get off the chain but he competed really well. He’s just a real aggressive type, he thrives on the aggression and so he played a pretty solid game.” CN
Marc Pittonet
13 possessions, 2 marks, 7 tackles, 47 hit-outs
“Pittonet was also solid in the ruck. He had 47 hit-outs so he was really dominant throughout the game. He had some clever taps, he had a good connection with our on-ballers and so we were able to get some really clean clearances through his tap work. He had seven tackles so his follow-up work was also good. He had a shot on goal as well but unfortunately didn’t kick it.” CN
Ryan Schoenmakers
13 possessions, 5 marks, 1 tackle
“Schoenmakers was another one that competed really hard. He won a lot of 50-50 battles and took three marks from opposition boot so he was quite solid on the day.” CN
Teia Miles
10 possessions, 3 marks, 4 tackles
“Milesy had 10 touches in his first game back so he’ll look to improve from that. He went forward late, so it was hard for him to get much impact there. But he always uses the ball well so we need to work on getting the ball in his hands as much as possible.” CN
Conor Glass
9 possessions, 2 marks, 4 tackles
“Glass had nine touches. His movements off the ball were pretty good and some of his defensive actions were quite strong. He is probably another one who we need to get the ball in his hands a lot more because he uses it so well.” CN
Tim O’Brien
9 possessions, 3 marks, 3 goals
“In for his first game at VFL level for the year and kicked three goals. He’s quite dynamic when the ball comes forward and three goals is a good return. We probably need to work on giving our forwards a bit better supply so he’ll benefit from that.” CN
Mitchell Lewis
6 possessions, 2 marks, 1 tackle, 5 hit-outs
“He did a couple of nice things on the day. Another one that loves the contest, and another first-year player who will keep developing each week.” CN
