Seniors: Box Hill defeat Sandy at Trevor Barker Beach Oval
In a thrilling match against Sandringham at Trevor Barker Beach Oval, the Box Hill Hawks came out on top, winning by 23 points to claim the Victoria Police VFL Blue Ribbon Cup.
In the first quarter it looked as though Sandringham were on their way to a win, kicking the first two goals of the day.
The Hawks finally managed to bring the ball into their forward 50, setting up Anderson for the first Box Hill goal of the day.
With a goal from Lawlor after the siren, the margin was brought back to 10 points. The Hawks still had a lot of work to do from here.
The second quarter was a game changer. Sicily dominated the forward 50 with three goals in a row.
“I had a word with one of the development coaches in the quarter time huddle, to reset my mind and start again. I got a stat early in the second quarter which gave me a bit of confidence for what was to come,” said Sicily.
After having a fairly quiet first quarter, Sicily came out of nowhere to score his first goal, giving the hawks a three point lead, but he wasn’t done there…
Within a few minutes he had the ball back in the forward 50, lining up and kicking it perfectly through the goal posts.
In true Hawk style, the ball was booted back into the forward 50 from the bounce, Sicily getting his third within 10 minutes of the second quarter.
“It wasn’t just me who scored those goals, I was able to score because of how the forwards worked together as a team. Everyone played a very selfless game today, I was just lucky to be on the end of them,” said Sicily.
From a sloppy first quarter, the Hawks had completely transformed. They finished the first half with a 23 point lead over Sandringham.
The third quarter saw Sandringham toughen, showing no signs of giving up. Starting strong, they scored the first two goals of the quarter.
But once again Sicily shone, from 25 metres out, scoring his fourth goal of the match and showing Sandringham that the Hawks weren’t going to let go of their lead.
Just before the third quarter siren sounded, Sicily kicked a massive goal, 45 metres out and on a slight angle, his fifth goal, taking the Hawks lead to 21 points.
On the third quarter siren there was a controversial goal from Sandringham, spectators not sure which out of the goal and the siren came first. However, the umpire did award Sandringham the goal.
Grimley was a stand out in the forward 50, leaping above the Sandy players to mark the ball. He lined up and kicked a great goal for the Hawks.
Finishing the Hawks day off with two goals in a row was McEvoy. Both goals from set shot, inside the Hawks forward 50.
The siren sounded with the final scores showing a 23 point victory to the Box Hill Hawks.
The win came with the highly respected Victoria Police VFL Blue Ribbon Cup, in honour of those members of the police force who have made the ultimate sacrifice in the line of duty.
Box Hill Hawks will line up next Sunday at Box Hill City Oval against the Northern Blues.
Box Hill Hawks 14.7 (101)
Sandringham 11.12 (78)
Goals: Sicily 5, Grimley 3, P McEvoy 2, Miles, Lock, Lawlor, Anderson
Best: Sicily, Simpkin, Collins, Howe, Litherland, Heatherley