Box Hill defeat Coburg
Box Hill claimed a hard-fought 24-point win over Coburg on the weekend, reinforcing their position in the top eight...
Box Hill claimed a hard-fought 24-point win over Coburg on the weekend, reinforcing their position in the top eight.
It was seemingly a mismatch, with the Hawks vying for a spot in fifth place on the VFL ladder, while the Tigers are well and truly out of finals contention.
Instead though, the match was hotly contested as Box Hill was made to work for their 24-point victory.
The Hawks controlled possession for much of the first-half, but their conversion in front of goal let them down as they squandered a number of opportunities to extend their lead.
The frenetic pace and pressure of the Hawks made it difficult for the Tigers to move the ball freely as they struggled to find a target inside forward 50.
There was no such issue for the Hawks however, as Daniel Pratt proved their biggest threat up forward, booting three goals in the opening term to open up a 15-point lead at the first break.
Box Hill found space in the second term as they got their running game going to quickly open up a 44-point lead - but a late Tigers' surge closed the gap to 28 points at half time.
The Tigers capitalised on the momentum in the early part of the second half, as a spectacular mark from Nick Maric lifted his teammates. Thirty-seconds later, the Tigers goaled to cut the margin to four goals.
The Hawks steadied midway through the third, despite Coburg's best efforts to further cut the margin as the Hawks had an answer for every challenge.
A pleasing aspect of the match for Hawks coach Damien Carroll was that the Hawks were able to keep the Tigers at bay depite their resurgence in the second half.
A goal to Hawthorn-listed player Xavier Ellis all but sealed the victory, when he marked and goaled from directly in front to stretch the lead to five goals with 10 minutes remaining.
Matt Jones led the way for Box Hill with 31 disposals and gave his side plenty of run with the likes of Mitch Hallahan (30), Chance Bateman (23) and Taylor Gilchrist (24), while Stephen Gilham and Tom Murphy were solid in defence.
David Fahey was the best for Coburg, as Addam Maric led the way with 36 disposals.
Next week, the Tigers will meet Frankston at home, while the Hawks will travel to North Port Oval to take on Port Melbourne.