Box Hill will go back to the drawing board in an attempt to kickstart its season in two weeks after a 54-point round one loss to Sandringham.

The Hawks drew within 28 points in the third term following an Amos Frank-inspired run on, but could not capitalise on the position as the Zebras powered away in the final quarter.

Hawks coach Damian Carroll said his side would have loved an opportunity to redeem themselves next week, but with a bye next week, his side will have to wait until their Round 3 clash with Werribee.

“I was a little bit worried about some of the boys’ gametime and their ability to run the game out over pre-season,” Carroll said.

“In the end that showed a bit. We’ve just got to have a look at where we can get better and make sure we do over the next few weeks.”

The opening quarter was an even contest, as Beau Muston and Tom Schnieder negated the influence of former Port Adelaide Magpie Terry Milera in the middle.

Their work saw opportunities present themselves to first gamer Jordan Kelly, who kicked the Hawks opener.

A series of Zebras goals was then broken by co-captain Daniel Pratt, who put the icing on a slick link of handballs that involved Hawthorn-listed trio Kyle Cheney, Jarryd Roughead and Cameron Bruce.

A late Mitch Hallahan goal was not enough to narrow the margin, as former West Coast forward Adam Cockie kicked the Zebras out to an 18-point quarter time lead.

Kelly narrowed the margin to 12 with the first goal of the second quarter, roving a contest created by Bruce, to put the pressure on early.

From there, the Hawks found their groove, putting pressure on the Zebras' ball winners and were able to get the ball into the hands of players such as the impressive Derick Wanganeen.

But it was the Zebras who were finishing better, slamming on goals late in the half to extend their lead to 40 points at half time.

The game appeared beyond reach when Sandringham kicked the first two goals of the thrid term, before a mini-revival threatened to bring Box Hill back into the game.

Frank’s first for the afternoon reduced the margin to 41, before a succession of chances pegged back the margin to give the travelling fans hope.

But Sam Dunnell’s lead-up play gave the Zebras the impetus to open a 50-point margin, which was cut back to 44 after Pratt’s monster goal just before the three-quarter time siren.

The last term followed a similar pattern, with Sandringham running away with the contest in the final 15 minutes.

Carroll said his side would try and draw positives from the game, highlighting the performance of Kyle Cheney and Pratt.