Hawks and Gulls Primed For September Preview
September comes early this Sunday, as the sixth-placed Box Hill entertain the seventh-placed Williamstown with more than just four points at stake.
Who: Williamstown
Where: Box Hill City Oval
When: Sunday, 12:05pm
TV/Streaming: VFL live stream available via the VFL Match Centre ; and Live on Channel 7 from midday.
Box Hill: played 15, won 10, lost 5 – 6th on the ladder
Williamstown: played 15 won 10, lost 5 – 7th on the ladder
Smile, you’re on camera!
Sunday’s match marks an all-too-rare TV game for the Box Hill Hawks in 2024, with Channel 7 set to broadcast the action from City Oval from midday.
A Little Bit of History
Played 45 (since 1996) – Box Hill 18, Williamstown 26, 1 draw
The modern rivalry between Box Hill and Williamstown has, at times, been one of the VFL’s very best.
Having been beaten by the Seagulls eight times in succession between Round 8, 2007 and Round 21, 2011, the Hawks would respond with five wins on the spin between Round 11, 2012 and Round 10, 2015 – a run of wins Which included the 2013 Qualifying Final and 2014 Preliminary Final.
Sadly, the boys from across the bay broke their duck in round 20 of 2015, before going on to beat the Hawks on Grand Final day just four weeks later.
Five points ahead at the half, Willy put the pedal to the metal after half time and left a Box Hill side hobbled by selection decisions and match day injuries in their wake to claim the flag.
While Box Hill would exact a measure of revenge come Round 2, 2016, beating the reigning premier at Point Gellibrand by 15-points, the two sides would square off in a fourth final in six years come 2018. That day, in a truly all-time great VFL Preliminary Final, it was the Hawks who had the last laugh, coming from five points behind at the final change to win through to the Grand Final with a pulsating one-point victory.
Strangely, excluding matches played at neutral venues, in the last 11 fixtures played between the Hawks and Seagulls the home side has won just twice – Box Hill in Round 9, 2019 and Round 10 of 2014.
The most recent clash took place in Round 11, 2023 and was the first time the teams had met since the aforementioned round 9, 2019 meeting at Box Hill. Eight points ahead with one to play, the Hawks couldn’t go with the ‘Gulls in the last quarter. The visitors kicked the last four goals of the afternoon to run away 15-point winners to take their first win over Box Hill since 2017.
In terms of crossover talent, long-time Williamstown coach Andy Collins returned home in 2021, bringing with him former assistant Clint Proctor – who would go on to coach the Hawks in his own right in 2022.
Star small forward Ben Cavarra and athletic high-flyer Jaylon Thorpe also had stints in blue and yellow before donning the brown and gold, while Arryn Siposs – a Hawthorn development coach and Box Hill assistant – once played for the ‘Gulls before embarking on a career in American football.
2023 So Far
The Hawks and Seagulls roll into round 18 with identical 10-and-5 records through 17 rounds and sit sixth and seventh on the VFL ladder with three games to play.
Box Hill’s season has been a stop-start affair to this point, and the Club’s past five week reflecting both the evenness of the competition and the somewhat inconsistent form line which has Zane Littlejohn’s side sitting just outside the competition’s top four.
A spirited win away against Richmond was followed by the second of three byes, and when the Hawks returned to action they dropped a nail biter to Port Melbourne, claimed a heart-stopping one-point win against old foes Geelong, were beaten soundly by Southport on the Gold Coast, before overcoming the loss of two players early last weekend at Arden Street to outlast the Kangaroos.
With just 12 points left on offer before the end of the home and away season, a win on Sunday Is vital for the team’s pursuit of the all-important double chance.
Williamstown, meanwhile, started the year in scintillating form, seeing off the challenges of Frankston, Coburg and Southport in successive weeks to set up their campaign. A round four loss to Footscray represented a momentary setback, as the ‘Gulls quickly re-group to reel off wins against Werribee, Casey, Essendon and Carlton in successive weeks to sit seven-and-one.
Back-to-back losses to Port Melbourne and Southport brought them back to the field somewhat, but they steadied to defeat the Bullants and move to eight-and-three.
A second pair of defeats, his time to Werribee and The Suns, compounded things and resulted in Willy dropping out of the top six and into the wildcard places.
But a 20-point win against Sandringham returned them to the winners’ list, before they defeated Richmond in their last start to set up Sunday’s blockbuster.
Selection News
Zane Littlejohn and his match committee have been forced into three changes this weekend, losing the injured trio of Ned Reeves, Ed Phillips and Josh Bennetts from the side which beat North Melbourne last weekend.
Into the side come the returning Cam Mackenzie, Jasper Scaife and Kye Agosta – the latter of whom plays his second match of the season and first since way back in round four.
One(s) to Watch
Cam Mackenzie comes into the Hawks’ VFL side for the first time in 2024, having played eight matches at the level in his debut season at Waverley Park.
Classy, a good decision maker and a great ball user, Mackenzie has grown enormously since we last saw him at state league level, thanks to another pre-season and the confidence of a solid run of form in his 17 senior matches this term.
Having missed the win over Collingwood last weekend, Mackenzie will look to push for an immediate return to the ones with a strong showing on Sunday.
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 VFL live stream is available via the VFL Match Centre; alternatively, Sunday’s match has been selected as the VFL match of the round and will be broadcast live on Channel 7 from midday.
Membership
It might be late in the season, but it’s never too late to support the mighty Box Hill Hawks and, as always, membership is the best way to do it!
You can purchase your 2024 Box Hill Hawks membership via this link.
