Box Hill has failed to move into the top four on the VFL ladder, falling to third-placed Werribee in tough conditions at City Oval on Saturday afternoon.
Despite a dominant third quarter performance, the Hawks could not capitalize on a raft of opportunities to begin the second half. The Tigers made them pay and ran away with the match in the final term with three last quarter goals being enough to claim victory.
Following the match, Box Hill coach Damian Carroll recognized his side’s shortcomings on what was a difficult afternoon.
“It was tough to play and tough to coach in those conditions,” Carroll said.
“I think they are a good side and we matched it in pretty much every area, we just weren’t able to kick straight enough.
“On the other side of it we gave up some free kicks that proved pretty costly in the game as well.”
Ultimately it was Box Hill’s inaccurate third quarter that cost Carroll’s side the opportunity to move into the top four. Trailing by eight points at the main break, the Hawks had nine scoring shots to Werribee’s two in the third term but only managed to reduce the deficit to six points by three quarter time.
“We had our opportunities in that third quarter and we weren’t able to make the most of them,” Carroll said.
“All be it a couple of them only just missed the goals, but they’ve got to go through and unfortunately we didn’t capitalize on our opportunities.”
Earlier in the day, the Hawks were forced to play catch up after being kept goalless in the first quarter. The Hawks midfield got Box Hill back into the match as Luke Andrews continued his consistent form whilst Matt Jones and Mitch Hallahan began to gain the upper hand for the home side at the stoppages.
“We thought Jones was really good because he actually played a role in terms of negating (Ben) Ross after he got away from us early,” Carroll said.
“He did a good job and found some good footy himself so he’s going really well for us.
“There were enough contributions on the day but we weren’t able to obviously kick a winning score to put pressure on Werribee throughout the game.”
Scott West’s Werribee didn’t give the Hawks a sniff in the final term. Former West Coast and current North Melbourne forward Ben McKinley booted two last quarter majors to deny the Hawks a third straight win in 2012.
Hawthorn listed midfielder Xavier Ellis made a successful return to football after missing nearly two months of football after injuring his knee in Box Hill’s Round 11 win over Williamstown.
“I think he will be better for the run, he certainly got a bit of footy and he got through okay,” Carroll said.
“17 possessions was a reasonable return, probably just a bit of his touch and decision making will come back over the next few weeks I think.”
Hawthorn-listed players
Tom Schneider: Collected 23 possessions (equal team high) however was not as effective as he has been for most of 2012. Schneider was still integral in the middle of the ground finished with seven tackles and five clearances.
Kyle Cheney: Cheney collected nine possessions returning to the Box Hill line-up. Competed well in defence and was rarely beaten.
Mitch Hallahan: One of the Hawks’ best performers in tough conditions. Hallahan finished the game with 23 disposals and an impressive 11 clearances.
Angus Litherland: Litherland finished with seven disposals down back, the Hawks missed his usual run and dash from defence.
Chance Bateman: In his second game back from injury, Bateman collected 16 disposals. His willingness to run hard and provide an option for his teammates was a highlight.
Stephen Gilham: Solid down back, Gilham competed well and finished the day as one of Box Hill’s best. Collected 16 possessions and earned a team high five rebound 50’s.
Bradley Hill: The winger was important in Box Hill’s third quarter run on and finished the game with 14 possessions. Adding to his running game, Hill was willing to scrap it out in close and finished with seven tackles.
Luke Lowden: Lowden was the dominant ruckman on the ground and continues his good 2012 season. Competing against Hamish McIntosh during stages of the day, Lowden finished with 13 possessions and earned three clearances of his own.
Taylor Duryea: Failed to have his usual impact when exiting defence. Duryea still managed to collect 13 possessions and affected five tackles for the afternoon.
Adam Pattison: Played a variety of roles throughout the match, often dropping back to help his defence. Pattison collected 11 possessions and 15 hit outs for the day.
Broc McCauley: Toiled hard in tough conditions. McCauley earned 10 possessions and five tackles.
Xavier Ellis: First game back since injuring his knee in Box Hill’s Round 11 win over Williamstown. Ellis put in a solid shift, finishing the game with 17 disposals and six clearances. Will be better for the run.
Tom Murphy: Didn’t manage to rack up the sort of numbers he has for much of the season with Box Hill. The defender finished with seven possessions and four rebound 50’s.
Werribee 3.1 5.1 7.1 10.4 (64)
Box Hill 0.3 3.5 4.13 5.16 (46)
Goals: Box Hill - X. Murphy 2, D. Hughes , D. Pratt , L. Andrews
Werribee - B. McKinley 2, B. Ross 2, B. Warren 2, A. Kennedy , L. Harding , R. Castello , M. Daw
Best: Box Hill - M. Jones, S. Gilham, A. Pattison, M. Thompson, L. Andrews, M. Hallahan
Werribee - L. Harding, A. Kennedy, C. Pedersen, L. Greenwood, K. Hartigan, R. Castello
