Box Hill have enjoyed their first big win for the season, beating the Bendigo Gold by a convincing 87 points on Saturday after a long trip down the highway.
Box Hill led at every major change despite an early challenge from the Gold which saw a tight opening term, with the two sides separated by just 5 points at the first break.
Despite coming into the match with the knowledge that Bendigo were yet to win a game, head coach Damian Carroll did not underestimate the quality of their opponent saying, “they certainly hit in hard Bendigo and they play with a lot of spirit and we were certainly making our boys aware of that all week.”
Rallying their troops in the second term Bendigo did exactly that, kicking the first two goals to take the lead half way through the quarter.
As has been the case for most of the season so far, it looked as though Box Hill might have another close one on their hands, as Bendigo continued to out position Box Hill and consistently found the fall of the ball. But some clever footwork from Amos Frank found the leveller with twenty one minutes gone and sparked a four-goal spree that put Box Hill three goals up at half-time.
Carroll was critical of his team’s ball movement and poor defensive effort for the first quarter and a half saying, “I think the fact that we got a couple of goals early in the game that we started to get a bit ahead of the footy and lose a bit of our structure and go away from some of the things that had been good for us early. Suddenly they are back in the game.”
“It was certainly worrying but full credit to the boys, I thought after half time we tackled really well, stuck our tackles [and] used the footy a lot better” he said.
After the break, Box Hill continued to open up the game kicking eight goals to Bendigo’s one in the third term. An array of Box Hill players were successful in front of goal with seven individual scores for the quarter, including a long bomb from Will Langford from just outside attacking 50.
In the middle, Sam Iles and Micth Hallahan continued to capitalise on Luke Lowden’s hard work in the ruck creating opportunities for their teammates further down field. Both finished the day amongst the best with 28 disposals to Hallahan and 26 for Iles.
Kyley Cheney and David Mirra were industrious figures in Box Hill’s defence, which in the second half stepped up its intensity and dominated the tackles 41 to 33, a stat they had lost in the first half.
The final term played host to impressive personal performances from Shane Savage and Langford both more than doubling their total disposal count from the first half in the quarter, with 13 and nine disposals respectively.
With a week off Carroll is hoping that some of the sore bodies will be able to rest and return fit and healthy for their big clash against the Casey Scorpions in a fortnight.
“Were really excited about heading into [the] Casey game with a full and fit list and challenging one of the better sides for the year” he said.
Final Score
Box Hill 20. 15. 135
Bendigo 7. 6. 48
Best: S. Iles, S. Savage, M. Hallahan, D. Mirra, K. Cheney, J. Kelly, L. Tobin, M. Lock
Goals: A. Frank 3, P. Lawlor 3, L. Tobin 3, B. Wood 2, S. Iles, M. Lock, W. Langford, X. Murphy, L. Lowden, D. Wanganeen, J. Ceglar, T. Gordon, S. Collins
Hawthorn-listed players
34. Jordan Kelly
Stats: 19 disposals, 4 tackles, 5 marks
Did his job well in defence, putting in a consistent four-quarter effort that won him praise in Carroll’s post match press conference.
35. Sam Grimley
Stats: 16 disposals, 10 hitouts, 14 kicks
Couldn’t find his feet in front of goal, but was useful around the ground spending short stints in the ruck and using his tall frame to apply pressure.
38. Mitch Hallahan
Stats: 28 disposals, 7 tackles, 7 clearances
A consistent, hard working effort from the midfielder, who was not afraid to use his body. Was instrumental in providing his teammates with options from the middle. Close to best on ground.
43. Amos Frank
Stats: 12 disposals, 3 goals, 3 tackles
Had a good day in front of goal, providing a spark when Box Hill needed it. Would have had more of an impact later in the game had injury not kept him out for the entire fourth quarter.
46. Dereck Wanganeen
Stats: 14 disposals, 1 goal, 5 tackles
Used his masterful footwork to dance around a defender and kick a goal during Box Hill’s third quarter goal bonanza. Also applied great defensive pressure at times.
47. Jonathan Ceglar
Stats: 13 disposals, 18 hitouts, 1 goal
Played as a good second option in the ruck and helped set up Box Hill’s second goal of the match with a clever handball.
61. Angus Litherland
Stats: 15 disposals, 3 tackles, 5 handballs
An unassuming performer who went about doing his job well all day, putting in a lot of effective efforts on ball.
63. Kyle Cheney
Stats: 20 disposals, 16 kicks, 4 kicks
Was one of the few players who didn’t fade during that early period. Used his body effectively down back, putting in the hard yards, which was recognised by Carroll in his post match press conference.
65. Will Langford
Stats: 13 disposals, 5 tackles, 5 clearances
After a slow first half, Langford lifted and put in a big last quarter with nine disposals. Was also useful around the stoppages.
70. Luke Lowden
Stats: 17 disposals, 24 hitouts, 1 goal
The number one ruckman on the day for hitouts, Lowden put in a great performance. He also provided a great leading target with 8 marks and managed to grab a goal in the fourth.
71. Shane Savage
Stats: 30 disposals, 8 clearances, 3 tackles
A massive 13 disposals effort in the fourth quarter saw Savage rank first in the disposal count. Extremely useful in the middle, capitalising and complimenting the work of Lowden.
