Match Preview: Hawks vs Lions

The fourth placed Box Hill Hawks host the 10th placed Brisbane Lions on Saturday, with thanks to Fenjiu. 

Who: Brisbane
Where: Home 
When: Saturday, 1:05pm
Radio: 3WBC, 94.1FM
TV/Streaming:  available to stream via the VFL match centre

Box Hill: played 7, won 5, lost 2 – 4th on the ladder
Brisbane: played 7, won 4, lost 3 – 10th on the ladder

A Little Bit of History

Played 1 – Box Hill 1, Brisbane 0

The Box Hill Hawks and Brisbane Lions have played just once in VFL action, in round 12 of 2023.

A strong first half showing propelled the Hawks into a four goal lead, but the Lions returned serve in the third term to draw within eight points with a quarter to play.

With the match in the balance Box Hill turned on the style. Jed Rule, Jack O’Sullivan and Cal Brown laid on three goals in four minutes after the resumption, before Damian Mascitti kicked a classy goal to all but end the contest.

Nine points to the good at three quarter time, all of a sudden the Hawks lead by 33. 

While long odds to stage the greatest of great escapes, Brisbane kicked four goals between the 17 and 27 minute marks of the final term to get within 13 points with mere minutes to play, only for Fergus Greene to kick his fifth of the afternoon to seal the result once and for all. 

Cal Brown was superb with 30 disposals, five clearances, seven tackles and a goal, Damian Mascitti booted two goals from 25 touches and Harry Morrison assured across half back with 30 possessions of his own. 

Fergus Greene was the dominant forward on the ground on the back of his five majors, while Jed Rule kicked three of his own in a fine showing. 

2023 So Far

Box Hill have navigated their first seven matches of the 2024 season for the loss of just two matches – one to the reigning premier Gold Coast Suns and the other to the ladder leading Footscray. 

Coming of a bye the Hawks sit in fourth on the VFL ladder. Incredibly, one win and percentage is all that separates third placed Geelong and the 11th placed Richmond.

The most recent of the Club’s five wins came a fortnight ago in Wonthaggi against Sandringham. Having started superbly Box Hill lead by as much as seven goals part way through the second term, only to be pegged back over the course of the next hour and, ultimately, headed deep into time on of the final quarter. 

Staring down the barrel at a crushing defeat it was left up the most unlikely of heroes to save the day: Stu Horner.

In his 50th senior match for the Club, and having never previously registered a score for the Club, Horner kicked truly from just on 50 to win back the lead and the four points.

As for the Lions, they’ve been one of the more entertaining teams in the VFL competition in 2024, playing in a string of enthralling matches. 

Aside from their 37-point round one win over Essendon and a 86-point round six loss to The Suns, Brisbane have beaten Collingwood by two points, lost to North Melbourne by one point, fallen to Geelong by three points, beaten Southport by nine points and accounted for Casey by seven points. 

Selection News

The Hawks have made five changes to the team which won a fortnight ago and enjoyed a breather last weekend, losing the re-called Changkuoth Jiath to AFL selection and the unlucky Cooper Stephens to a niggle.

Otherwise the VFL-listed trio of Ben De Bolfo, Nathan Philactides and Andreas Stefanakis are the unlucky names to be squeezed out by the returning group comprised of Jai Serong, Henry Hustwaite, Finn Maginness and Ned Reeves – the latter of whom has recovered from a finger injury which had previously sidelined him. 

One(s) to Watch

Josh Ward has strung together a solid run of form since returning to the Box Hill engine room, playing with confidence, poise and drive in each of his past three performances.

Against Sandringham the former first-round draft pick won 29 touches and seven clearances, took seven marks and laid four tackles; while against North Melbourne our no.25 had 27 disposals, laid seven tackles, won six clearances and kicked 2.2

A developing prospect with plenty of upside, if Ward’s form continues on this trajectory a senior return mightn’t be far away. 

How To Follow

Match coverage will be provided via our social channels throughout the day, while a radio call will be available via our wonderful community partners 3WBC 94.1FM.

Where To Watch

You can catch the live stream via the VFL match centre! 

The first bounce for the VFL clash between Box Hill and Brisbane is scheduled for 1:05pm and can be streamed via this link

Membership

Membership, as always, is the best way to support the Box Hill Hawks in 2024!

You can purchase your 2024 Box Hill Hawks membership via this link.