Box Hill women’s triumph over Eastern Devils
A dominant second half has seen Box Hill power to an impressive 66-point victory in their practice match against the Eastern Devils at Frankston Oval.
Coach Pat Hill was full of praise for his side’s performance, in which the Hawks slammed on 10 goals to none after half time in the five-term match.
“Each game we’ve played we’ve gotten better and better at the little things,” said Hill. “We stuck to task really well and it really opened up our way when it went the way we wanted it to.
“Around the third quarter, the Devils started to go to ground a bit, we kept our feet and we started to work a little bit better for each other.”
With six players missing at the AFL Victoria Academy, the Hawks trailed by three points at half time as the grey, still conditions gave way to torrential rain. In the fourth term, Box Hill defied the difficult weather as their ball movement became increasingly skilful and confident. In a 15-minute burst of play that underlined the potential of Hill’s charges, the Hawks slammed on 4.5 to take the match by the throat against a side that finished top four in 2016. The final term was a procession as Box Hill assumed total control, piling on six more goals and going Inside 50 15 times to nil.
Emily Gilder finished with three goals and Shae Taylor kicked two.
“Obviously, Emily showed what a livewire she can be up forward,” said Hill. “The most pleasing ones for me were Ebony Nixon, who went into the midfield when we lost a couple and I would have thought she’d got ten clearances by the end of the game, and Emily McIlvena played her role for five quarters today.”
The win is Box Hill’s second from three outings in the pre-season ahead of their Round 1 clash against Geelong on May 6.
Box Hill 11.12.78
Eastern Devils 2.0.12
Best – Mackie, Nixon, G Dillon, McIlvena, Gilder, Luke.
Goals – Gilder 3, Taylor 2, McIlvena, Tanner, Slaney, Mackie, Head, de Bondt.
