Playing beneath clear blue skies and even a rainbow at times, Box Hill managed to make light work of Frankston in their 76 point win over the Dolphins on Sunday afternoon.

From the opening two minutes, when Michael Osborne and Liam Tobin both kicked a goal without Frankston even seeing the ball in their attacking 50, Box Hill never lost control.

The Hawks’ Jordon Kelly would sneak forward from defence and kick Box Hill’s third before Frankston could convert one.

One more goal from the boot of Brandon Wood would see Box Hill take a 12 point lead into the first break.

Early in the second quarter, Box Hill wasted opportunities with three set shots inside the first five minutes all pushing wide, with Box Hill Coach Damian Carroll making note of the missed chances post-match.

“We missed quite a few opportunities, gettable opportunities that you know, if you often don’t take those the side can put pressure on you at the other end,” he said.

As the quarter progressed however, Box Hill found their feet.

Sam Iles got the ball rolling with a cleaver pick up inside attacking 50 and with a few quick steps around a Frankston player kicked a goal at point blank range.

Five more goals followed with Mitch Hallahan and Jonathon Ceglar both booting two. From there on Box Hill began to break the game open.

A 31 point lead at the long break left Frankston a slim opportunity to get back in the contest if they started strong in the third.

Xavier Ellis had other ideas with a spearing kick inside 50 finding Wood on the lead, who took a flying mark and kicked the first goal of the quarter.  

Frankston’s inability to effectively clear the ball from Box Hill’s attacking 50 was detrimental to their attempts to pull back the lead. While Box Hill capitalised on their errors with another flurry of goals, converting six to the Dolphins one to seal the win. From there on Box Hill were playing for percentage.

The Hawks domination continued in the last with Tobin and Ceglar assuring that Box Hill won every quarter, adding to their individual goal tally and kicking a one each, while Frankston managed just the single major, to bring their total of to two since half-time.

In the end Box Hill finished with 28 more inside 50’s than the Dolphins.

It was fitting that the last goal of the day came from Ceglar, after a day that had seen him and Box Hill’s other tall man Luke Lowden dominate overhead. Between them they had 19 marks, 39 disposals and 53 hit outs in a performance that pleased the Box Hill coaching staff.

“We were rapt with them,” Carroll said.

“Very important obviously in any good side to have your big guys playing well.

“We thought throughout the game their contribution was really solid.”

The usual suspects of Iles and Hallahan were again outstanding in the middle, with 35 and 31 disposals respectively. Ellis also made a big improvement on last week’s performance, finishing with 31 disposals and two goals.

Despite no football being played next weekend due to the Queen’s Birthday, it will be business as usual at Box Hill during the week with two tough away games coming up against Sandringham and Werribee.

“We’ve put ourselves in a position and we want to maintain our consistency over the next block,” Carroll said.  

“Both those teams, I don’t think we have had a lot of success at their ground over the years.”

Final score
Box Hill 4.4 6.8 6.7 2.4 (131)
Frankston 2.4 4.1 1.1 1.1 (55)

Best: S. Iles, M. Hallahan, J. Ceglar, X. Ellis, L. Lowden, M. Osborne, B. Wood

Goals: M. Hallahan 3, J. Ceglar 3, X. Ellis 2, L. Tobin 2, B. Wood 2, S. Iles, M. Northe, J. Kelly, A. Frank, S. Savage, M. Osborne

Hawthorn-listed Players:

34. Jordan Kelly
Stats: 23 disposals, 1 goal, 9 marks
A standout in defence all day, especially early and managed to come forward and kick a goal.  

38. Mitch Hallahan
Stats: 31 disposals, 3 goals, 8 clearances
As he has done for the past three weeks, another fantastic four-quarter effort from the midfielder, who was pivotal in the second quarter surge. He finished the day with 31 touches and 14 honest efforts.  Should push for Hawthorn senior selection in the coming weeks.

43. Amos Frank
Stats: 13 disposals, 1 goal, 5 tackles
Improved on last week’s performance, seeing more of the ball. Used his lighting pace to inflict hurt on Frankston after they turned the ball over in the middle and ended up with a goal.  

46. Dereck Wanganeen
Stats: 9 disposals, 5 tackles, 2 clearances
Although he didn’t dominate the stoppages, he used the ball well when he had it.

47. Jonathon Ceglar
Stats: 22 disposals, 26 hit outs, 3 goals
A tie for best on ground from the Hawthorn list with Hallahan. Was phenomenal in the second quarter taking marks overhead and managed to carry that form for the rest of the day.

61. Angus Litherland
Stats: 8 disposals, 4 tackles, 4 body spoils  
Didn’t have the same impact in defence as he has over the past three weeks but still used his body well to win position and contests.

67. Matthew Spangher
Stats: 13 disposals, 6 marks tackles, 3 honest efforts  
Took a couple of screamers and had an impact at points. Was useful down back.

70. Luke Lowden
Stats: 17 disposals, 27 hit outs, 8 marks
Matched Ceglar’s performance to create a powerful tall combination around the ground.  While he didn’t kick a major he was instrumental in setting up a few and used his height advantage to take some strong marks.

71. Shane Savage
Stats: 23 disposals, 5 clearances, 4 tackles
A quiet day by his standards although he began to come into it in the second half, kicking a goal in the third. Was very good around the contest and kicked well.

77. Michael Osborne
Stats: 21 disposals, 1 goal, 4 tackles
Showed great leadership on field and wasn’t afraid to do the small things, notching up 15 honest efforts for the match.

80. Xavier Ellis
Stats: 31 disposals, 2 goals, 8 clearances
Effort across the four quarters was impressive with a big improvement on last week. Showed his maturity as a senior player and made smart choices. He was also prepared to do the hard stuff with five effective tackles and six hardball gets.