Hawks defeated by Seagulls
Box Hill faced immense pressure and rarely fired a shot in a one-sided affair.
The Box Hill Hawks will hope to erase from memory Saturday’s 94-point loss against Williamstown at the Box Hill City Oval.
The Hawks were completely over-awed by the ladder-leading Seagulls, a team with incredible depth and talent in their list.
In reality the match was all but over by half-time, after Williamstown led by 42 points and never looked troubled, in the 22.10.(142) to 7.6.(48) defeat.
The Hawks faced immense pressure and rarely fired a shot in a one-sided affair.
Adding some tall timber and flair to their line-up, the Seagulls benefited from the return of big man Will Minson, Andrejs Everitt and Jordan Roughead which put the Hawks behind the eight ball from the beginning.
Williamstown looked dangerous early, penetrating their forward 50 relentlessly to score six goals in the opening term.
The Hawks were chasing the Seagull pack from the outset as Williamstown fired a procession of goals in a match where the team were getting no favors.
Williamstown were playing with plenty of confidence; running and carrying the ball through the midfield to open up a 70-point lead at the three quarter time break.
The Hawks were paying dearly with a number of costly turnovers.
Apart from goals through Liam Shiels and Ryan Jackson, the Hawks were outscored five goals to two in the final term to round-off a disappointing display.
Box Hill aimed to win the last quarter on the scoreboard, and although grit was shown they could not complete the task.
Overall, what hurt the Hawks most was their inability to penetrate the forward 50 zone with any real vigor.
Sam Gibson was one of the few shining lights for the Hawks, wrapping up the match with 24 touches and a goal, showing leadership which the team could not find.
Liam Shiels (21) provided good run and Ryan Schoenmakers staked his claim for a spot in the Hawthorn line-up with a solid 16 possession performance in defence.
Cameron Pedersen (17) was also handy down back against the dangerous Seagulls forwards.
Recalled back into the Box Hill side, Will Sierakowski and Taylor Duryea (10) stepped up in a sign of things to come, with Hawthorn’s youngsters showing the way on a disappointing day.
Robbie Campbell (11 disposals, 21 hitouts) competed hard against Seagull ruck-duo Will Minson (22 disposals) and Jordan Roughead (19), along with Garry Moss who always was busy in the middle with 19 touches.
The Hawks also suffered two injury concerns with Beau Muston and Liam Shiels suffering a hand and ankle respectively.
The display from Box Hill was 'patchy' at best and was no where near the side most expected to see.
Box Hill begin their 2010 VFL finals campaign in the First Elimination Final against Bendigo which will be played at Box Hill City Oval on Sunday 29 August.
The Hawks will need to re-group quickly if they are to reverse the result against the Bendigo Bombers next week.
Box Hill Hawks: 2.1 / 4.2 / 5.3 / 7.6.48
Williamstown: 6.2 / 11.2 / 17.4 / 22.10.142
Goals: S. Gibson, L. Shiels, R. Jackson, G. Moss, J. Hoegel, T. Duryea, T. Tuck
Best: S. Gibson, L. Shiels, W. Sierakowski, R. Schoenmakers, C. Pedersen, T. Duryea