FORWARD or back, Teia Miles is finding a way to influence matches.
The second-year Hawk has been among Box Hill Hawks’ best in the opening stages of 2016, stringing together some impressive performances at VFL level.
After a consistent debut year for Box Hill, where he featured in 20 matches, Miles is taking his game to another level.
The 19-year-old is averaging more than 20 disposals per game – and has kicked 11 goals (the most of any Box Hill player) – in his first six matches of 2016.
And he’s playing an important role for Box Hill week-in, week-out, whether that’s as a small defender, a high-pressure forward or providing run and link-up between the arcs.
“It’s good to get a couple of kicks over the last couple of weeks and be finding the footy,” Miles said this week.
“The team’s working really hard and it’s an absolute privilege to play for such a great team, and I’m finding some form at the moment - hopefully it continues.”
Miles has been named among Box Hill’s best performers in each of the past four weeks, arguably producing two of his best performances since joining Hawthorn with pick 49 in the 2014 NAB AFL Draft, over the past two weeks.
Against Werribee a fortnight ago, Miles had 29 disposals and kicked 1.4, in a two-point loss. On Saturday against Casey, he corrected that conversion rate – kicking 4.1 from 19 disposals to earn a glowing endorsement from Hawks’ coach Marco Bello.
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“Teia was best on ground for us,” Bello said.
“His ball-winning ability and use of the ball effectively off half back and going forward was a telling factor in him being able to play a great game.”
With a reputation for accuracy by foot, Miles has been developing his game so that he can have an influence in multiple positions.
“I played the first two and a half quarters down back, then I went forward in the last quarter and tried to create a pressure and hopefully kick a goal. It worked well, but it wasn’t enough to get us over the line,” he said.
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It’s been a focus for Miles since the start of 2016, when he started training with the forward group, to build on the defensive skills he developed the year prior.
He had a taste of NAB Challenge football during the pre-season, and will be looking to help Box Hill respond from two narrow defeats after the state representative break this week, as he pushes his case for an AFL debut.
“Just late in the game the last couple of weeks, we haven’t been able to find a way to kick a late goal, and we’ve lost both by around a goal,” Miles said.
“We haven’t been playing our best footy the last couple of the weeks (at Box Hill), and we can definitely improve in all areas of the game.”
