Preview: Hawks to Defend 100% Start Against Richmond
The four-and-zero Box Hill Hawks take centre stage this weekend, hosting the three-and-two Richmond at Franklin’s Kinetic Stadium in Channel 7’s ‘Match of the Round’.
Who: Richmond
Where: Kinetic Stadium, Frankston
When: Saturday, 7:10pm
TV/Streaming: live on Channel 7; VFL live stream available via the VFL Match Centre
Match of the Day
While we hope Hawks fans itching for a footy fix on Saturday will make the trip to Frankston, for the first time in 2025 the brown and gold will grace Channel 7’s match of the day coverage.
Originally scheduled to be a Box Hill home game at City Oval, the match was moved to accomodate the broadcaster.
A Little Bit of History
Played 11 (since 2014) – Box Hill 6, Richmond 5
Deadlocked at five head-to-head wins apiece going into their most recent meeting, in round 12 of 2024, the Hawks moved ahead six-to-five on account of a 37-point victory at Punt Road.
It was the Hawks’ third win in succession against Richmond, who had enjoyed a four-game winning streak of their own from the 2017 Preliminary Final through to Round 16 of 2019.
But, as touched on above, post-COVID its been one way traffic the in the direction of Box Hill City Oval. Wins by 33, three and 37 points have seen the Hawks take all four points and bragging rights – as well as plenty of highlights in between.
The round 8, 2022 clash at City Oval was a memorable one for a budding Box Hill outfit, who slammed on 8.4 to 1.3 in the last term to turn a 10-point three-quarter-time deficit into a 33 point win.
The Hawks trailed by as much as 27-points mid-way through the second term, but that was but a distant memory when Cal Porter burst from the first centre bounce of the final term to slam through a momentum-swinging, match-defining goal.
When the current skipper kicked a second short time later Box Hill had the lead. The team in brown and gold wouldn’t trail again.
The last time the sides met was a little less remarkable, but still delivered an important four points for a Box Hill side hunting a top four finish.
The Hawks got out of the blocks quickly to kick 4.2 to 0.4 in the first term, narrowly held off a spirited Richmond challenge in quarters two and three and closed the door in the last by booting 4.3 to 2.3 – come days end Zane Littlejohn’s men had won each term and the, obviously, the game.
The top five possession winners on the ground were all draped in brown and gold, lead by Harry Morrison and Seamus Mitchell’s 34 touches, 33 to Josh Ward, 32 to Henry Hustwaite and, finally, 31 to the hard running Finn Maginness.
As if to further underline the how and why the match was won, only four players booted multiple goals and all belonged to the Hawks. Jasper Sciafe kicked three, while Daniel Wood, Cal Porter and Josh Bennetts all chimed in with two.
The Season So Far
Box Hill – played four, won four, third on the VFL ladder
Richmond – played five, won three, lost two, ninth on the VFL ladder
Box Hill come into the contest on the back of a four-game winning stretch to start the 2025 campaign.
Wins against the 16th placed Blues in round one, the fourth-placed North Melbourne in round two, the eighth-placed Geelong in round four and, most recently of all, the 20th-placed Port Melbourne in round five.
Each match-up has presented it’s own challenge, opportunity, positive and room for improvement – but, tellingly, each match-up has been won come the final siren.
Perhaps most meritorious of all was the round four win on the road against Geelong, in which the Hawks overcame a fast-starting Cats team to ultimately run away with an impressive four points.
Against Port Melbourne last weekend Box Hill looked to be in control mid-way through the final quarter, only for the Borough to stage an impressive fightback and draw within 13-points at the final change.
Down to just three of a possible five rotations in the final term, the Hawks dug deep to kick 6.3 to 2.2 and run out 38-point winners.
For their part, Richmond will be out to snap a two-game losing streak on Saturday night.
They started the season with three hard-fought wins on the trot against Coburg (13-points), Sandringham (six-points) and Brisbane (22-points), but have since entered a stretch in which they’ve come undone against Frankston and, most recently, Casey.
Deadlocked at eight-apiece at quarter time of the match against the Demons, Casey would kick away to win by 118-points. The red and blue put a full stop put on things with a rollicking 9.6 to 1.1 final term.
Selection News
Box Hill have made two changes to the side which saw off the challenge of Port Melbourne last start, losing Finn Maginness and Changkuoth Jiath to senior re-calls on the back of excellent individual performances.
Into the squad comes live-wire half-forward Jake Arundell and debutant Max Donohue out of Leongatha and the Gippsland Power.
One(s) To Watch
I’m going to go with my boy Ben Cavarra and manifest a “Flipper Park” masterclass from the one-time Dolphin.
‘Cav’ haș endured a stop-start time of late, having missed the entirety of the 2023 campaign with a torn ACL and nearly half of 2024 on the back of a niggling hamstring.
The Hawks’ no.52 made his first appearance of 2025 last weekend and worked hard for little personal reward on the stats sheet; but long time VFL watchers know Cavarra’s quality and class.
A frustrating day against Port Melbourne was defined by ‘almost’ moments not quite going his way… but if he can get the rub of the green watch out on Saturday night.
There are few players in the state leagues as clean and clinical as ‘Cav’ with ball in hand. With a much-needed run already under his belt and a bit of ring rust knocked out, he just needs a half-chance to showcase that.
How To Follow
Match coverage will be provided via our social channels throughout the night, while a radio call will be available via our wonderful community partners at 3WBC 94.1FM.
Where to Watch
You can catch the live stream via the VFL match centre; alternately, the match will be broadcast on Channel 7 and streamed via their 7Plus app.
