BOX HILL Hawks face an uphill battle to feature in the VFL finals after being overrun by Richmond in their clash on Sunday at Punt Road Oval.
The young Hawks side led for much of the afternoon, but an eight-goal final term from the Tigers saw them turn a 19-point three-quarter time deficit into a 13.7 (85) to 10.9 (69) win.
“It was a game of two halves really,” Box Hill Hawks coach Marco Bello told hawthornfc.com.au.
“I thought the first half was some of the best football we’ve played all year, unfortunately we just couldn’t sustain it.
“We probably didn’t make the most of our opportunities going inside 50, especially with the wind in the third quarter.
We’ve obviously we’ve got a young group and they’re working through how to work for four quarters, but I was really effort for a big part of the day. Probably their (Richmond’s) experience showed up in the end.”
The Hawks started in strong fashion, holding the Tigers goal-less in the opening term, before leading by 25 points at the major break.
But the Hawks could only manage three goals after the major break, being run down in the final quarter for the second week running, after a narrow loss to Essendon.
“Unfortunately we let another one slip,” Bello said.
“We’ve had a lot of close games and we’re getting experience playing in close games, but we also need tp get the experience again of winning.
“We’ve got only the five games to go with a couple of games out of the eight, so for us to extend our season we’d certainly need to rely on other teams above us to give us some favourable results. But I think for us the next month of footy is about getting this group playing good footy for four quarters.”
While the result was disappointing, leaving the Hawks two wins behind the eighth-placed Bombers, there were plenty of positive signs.
Midfielder Alex Woodward made his senior VFL return, collecting 25 disposals, seven tackles and a goal to be among the Hawks’ best.
“It was great to have Alex back,” Bello said.
“He started like a man possessed in the first half, he had 18 disposals and he won the first kick of the day – which pretty much epitomised the way he was going to go about it.
“He left no stone unturned over the year that he had out, and it showed from the outset. For him to get a full game under his belt was great to see.”
Fellow midfielder Billy Hartung (29 disposals, nine inside 50s) and key defender Kurt Heatherley (19 disposals, 10 marks) were also named among Box Hill’s best, while Blake Hardwick (three goals) and Kade Stewart (two goals) had an impact on the scoreboard.
BOX HILL HAWKS 3.5 76. 8.7 10.9 (69)
RICHMOND 0.2 3.5 5.6 13.7 (85)
Box Hill goals: Hardwick 3, Stewart 2, Webster, Iles, Willsmore, Woodward, Evans
Box Hill best: Iles, Woodward, Switkowski, Heatherley, Warren, Hartung
