Hawks prescribe Scorpions double dose of defeat

The Hawks have dealt the Scorpions another big loss, this time at Casey Fields as the AFL development side ended the day victorious over the Scorpions in a 55-point win – much alike two weeks ago – to remain on top of the competition.
Unlike the final score line describes, Casey were intense early and booted the first goal for the day. The Hawks seemed on the back pedal; constantly fighting off the Scorpions forward attacks while unable to convert on the scoreboard.

The ball floated from one end of the field to the other repeatedly as each side attempted to force play in their favour. Box Hill went into the first break with a single goal as the home side held a 9-point lead.
Coach Kevin Collins recognised how formidable the Scorpions squad were and as an opponent, how tough they were going to be for the Hawks to beat.

“They’re very territorial out here and we never have an easy game, so they came out, a really high tackling team, they had really good structures and they were good against us in the first quarter, they were good against us the whole game,” Collins admitted.

But, the Hawks turned it up against their opponents right from the first clearance of the second quarter propelling the ball into their forward fifty and holding it there for the majority of the term.

Nik Papadopoulos landed a spectacular tackle on a Scorpion, which he was rewarded for and chose to boot the footy to the goal square, where Michael Thompson scooped it up to convert Papadopoulos’ effort into major score.

The Hawks looked hungrier, tougher and stronger than the Scorpions.
They looked like they wanted to win and they made it obvious by disallowing Casey a major score until the 18th minute mark of the second quarter.

Standout efforts up forward by Peter McEvoy and Kalem Post playing vigorously as ruckman saw the Hawks carry an imposing 18-point lead into the half-time break.

Although they overcame the Scorpion lead in the second quarter, it was their third quarter effort that was their best for the day – and possibly for weeks.
Xavier Murphy jump-started the Hawks third term with a gravity defying mark only to set up and slice the ball through the goal posts with a just as impressive goal. Every single Hawk made it their job to keep Casey from having a finger touch the ball and blocked off most entry from their defensive fifty.

Box Hill were consistently closing down their opponents and forcing turnovers, their domination of the ball was visibly evident on the field – but not so much on the scoreboard. Despite walking into the third term break with a healthy 34-point lead, their pressure should’ve amounted into a much greater gap.

As the final quarter commenced, Peter McEvoy’s day seemed to just get better with every touch as he capitalised on a set shot for the first goal of the final quarter to force a 40-point lead over Casey.

The Scorpions were desperate for the ball but just couldn’t fend off the everlasting energy of the Hawks who had taken the sting out of them early in the third quarter.
Brilliant defensive work through Xavier Murphy, Jake Summers and Tom Miles defined Casey’s inability to make any goal impression on the scoreboard in the final term and the Hawks’ capacity to increase their lead.
Collins was pleased with the input of every player across the field and felt their efforts over past rounds were commendable.
“We’ve won our last eight quarters and we came in today and we probably won three – or two and half – of the quarters and we had 251 honest efforts which is a big call for the players.
“So, our endeavor and work at [the] contested ball and pressure, attacks and those sort of things have been outstanding in the last three weeks and that’s probably what’s got us the four points,” Collins said.

The Hawks’ victory over the Scorpions cements their place on top of the ladder. As they travel into their next challenge against the Northern Blues in two weeks, where the Hawks will be aiming to win every single quarter, not just two and a half or three.
Final Score: Box Hill 13.16 94 defeat Casey 5.9 39

Goal Kickers: N. Papadopoulos 2, M. Thompson 2, P. McEvoy 2, T. Goodwin, J. Soccio, L. Tobin, M.Northe, X. Murphy, A. Bond, A. Franetic
Best Players: L. Tobin, X. Murphy, J. Soccio, T. Miles, L. Andrews, M. Thompson