Preview: Hawks Set For Suns

Box Hill fly north on Saturday to take on the Gold Coast Suns in yet another season shaping match-up.

Who: Gold Coast Suns
Where: People First Stadium, Gold Coast
When: Saturday, 11:05am
TV/Streaming: Live stream available via the VFL Match Centre

A Little Bit of History

Played 6 – Box Hill 2, Gold Coast 4

The Hawks and Suns are relatively fresh rivals at the VFL level, having only come across one another since the Gold Coast’s admission to the competition in 2021.

Box Hill took the honours in the first two meetings between the sides – a 72-point win at City Oval in round 12, 2021 and a 22-point triumph in round 10, 2022 at Carrara – but have failed to win any of the next four match-ups.

The Hawks’ only win away to the Suns was a stirring victory, secured on the back of four goals to both Fergus Greene and Jackson Callow and a triple from the boot of Ben Cavarra.

Damian Mascitti and Jordan Cuncio were both sensational in winning 26 touches, while James Parsons’ wracked up 24 touches and kicked a outstanding running goal.

The sides shared a 12-goal opening term, with Box Hill heading to the huddle one-point to the good. The Suns narrowly shaded the second term to lead by two-points at the long break, but a five-goal to two third quarter gave the Hawks a break they could  defend and, ultimately, build on.

The team in brown and gold would cap of a fine afternoon by winning the last frame to run out 22-point victors.

Two of four successive losses Box Hill have experienced against The Suns were, of course, finals. The first being a 23-point Gold Coast win in the 2022 Elimination Final, while the second was the 2023 Preliminary Final – decided by 15-points the way of the hosts.

2025 marks the fourth year in succession the Hawks will travel north to play the Suns without a return fixture in Victoria.

The Season So Far

Box Hill – played six, won five, lost one – second on the VFL ladder
Gold Coast – played five, won two, lost three – 14th on the VFL ladder

Box Hill bounced back from a disappointing loss to Richmond in round six to record a drought-breaking win against Werribee last weekend.

It was the first time the Hawks had beaten Werribee at Chirnside Park since 2013 and just the second time they’d gotten the better of the Tigers in the past eight meetings.

That performance follows excellent wins against Carlton, North Melbourne, Geelong and Port Melbourne so far – a run of form which has Zane Littlejohn’s side second in the competition standings a third of the way into the season.

A strong outfit at the VFL level since finding their footing post-Covid, Gold Coast have had a somewhat strange start to their 2025 campaign.

Despite winning just two of their opening five matches, their percentage is a whopping 129.6% – chiefly because two of their three losses have been by just two points, while their wins have been by 47-points and 125-points, respectively.

Unquestionably their worst display of the year so far was away to local rivals Southport, who put the 2023 premiers to the sword at Fankhauser Reserve in round four. Just last weekend it was fellow Sunshine Staters the Lions who got the points in thrilling fashion, holding on to win a thriller at Brighton Homes Arena.

Brayden Fiorini has been in exceptional form to start the year, average a ludicrous 38.4 touches a match through five matches. He’s won just 22 disposals fewer than the competition benchmark in this metric, Dom Brew, has through seven appearances.

They remain a far better outfit than the results reflect – and are always a difficult proposition on their home deck.

Selection News

Three come in, three go out.

Into the squad comes Henry Hustwaite, Sam Durdin and Joe Peacock; while the omissions to make way for them are Calsher Dear, Sam Frost and Ethan Stanley.

Dear and Frost were both brought into the Hawks’ senior traveling party for the trip to Darwin, with Ethan Stanley in concussion protocols after copping an unlucky head knock early in the win over Werribee last weekend. 

One(s) To Watch

It’s got to be the returning Henry Hustwaite – a man who polled 28 of a possible 30 Coaches’ MVP votes in Box Hill’s wins over Carlton, North Melbourne and Geelong before earning a call-up to the seniors.

“Huss” adds elite ball-winning ability and clearance nous to a Hawks team which will seek to get on top in the engine room and, having experienced three games at the top level, will no doubt be working to get another chance. 

How To Follow

Match coverage will be provided via our social channels throughout the match, 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.