Box Hill In Box Seat On The Ladder After Mauling

Aaron Pereira | Photo by Jenny Owens
Box Hill has cemented their spot on top of the Peter Jackson VFL ladder with a commanding win over Frankston on a wet and windy day.

The Box Hill City Oval was covered in cloud but Box Hill lit up the ground with a dominant display of clean kicking and uncontested football despite the conditions.

Box Hill led from the first bounce and finished 106 point winners 21.10 (142) to 5.6 (36) with many players doing their bit for the cause.

Many had Frankston as a chance due to the Hawks resting players for their upcoming Foxtel Cup clash with West Perth.

But the Hawks shot out from the blocks kicking seven goals to one in the first term, dominating the centre bounces and intercepting the ball better than they have previously in 2014.

The rain was heavy and conditions weren’t ideal but it didn’t worry Box Hill who were put in the box seat by a rampant Sam Cust and 2013 Premiership player Jonathan Simpkin.

Box Hill Coach Marco Bello praised the efforts of Simpkin and Cust who were pivotal in setting up a big lead early on.

“Simpkin in the middle was dominant and had a heap of the ball and Cust was working hard even when he didn’t have the ball,” Bello said.

The second term and third term saw Box Hill pile on 13 goals unanswered to lead by 114 points going into the last break.

Frankston did reduce the margin under the ton mid-way through the final term with a spate of three goals but the Hawks finished strongly through Matt Northe and Mitch O’Donnell.

Sam Collins and Tom Gordon were also a force inside the forward 50, kicking five goals between them and keeping the contested mark numbers up.

The highlight of the day was a one handed mark to Luke Andrews, rivalling the likes of Gary Ablett Snr and Ricky Ponting for a classic catch.

Post-match Bello was happy with the effort all around the ground and impressed with the output of the younger boys.

“We made sure we defended as a team, from the forwards to the midfielders to the back six,” Bello said.

“We also made sure that we had that scoreboard pressure, for once we were able to have good connection.”

Box Hill will meet West Perth on Tuesday Night at 8.35pm for the FOXTEL cup.

FINAL SCORES

Box Hill 22.10 (142) defeat Frankston 5.6 (36)

Goal Kickers: S. Collins 3, L. Tobin 2, T. Gordon 2, M. Northe 2, S. Cust 2, J. Simpkin 2, T. O”Brien 2, M. O’Donnell 2, S. Iles , M. Lock , A. Kennedy , P. Lawlor , B. Wood

Best Players: J. Simpkin, K. Cheney, M. Lock, D. Mirra, S. Collins, J. Ceglar