Match Preview: Dollies Await Hawks

The Box Hill Hawks will make our way down the peninsula tonight for a sea-side stoush with the Dolphins, acutely aware of the opportunity on offer and the challenge which awaits. 

Who: Frankston
Where: Kinetic Stadium
When: Friday 18 August
First Bounce: 7:05pm

A Little Bit Of History…

It always feels like I’m tempting fate when relaying stats like this, but here we go…

The Box Hill Hawks haven’t lost to Frankston since round 11, 2007. The two sides have met on 17 occasions in the years since, with the Hawks winning 16 of them and drawing the other.

So, near enough to flawless since before Robert Downey Jr.’s raw charisma single-handedly kickstarted the MCU and his departure marooned it in a no-man’s land of unimaginative, tedious, oversaturated, directionless monotony. 

These wins have come at an average of 44-points, with of these victories by 100-points or more. 

The most recent encounter took place in round 20 of 2022 and saw Box Hill start well, before kicking on to win each quarter and secure a 51-point result.

One-time Dolphin (not literally) Ben Cavarra had a good day out on his old stomping ground, booting three goals from 13 touches, while Jackson Callow was the dominant big man on the ground, kicking three of his own from 19 disposals. 

Youngster Kai Windsor showed his class and opportunism to kick two in just his second VFL match, while Liam Shiels was in quite the mood, racking up 31 touches, winning 11 clearances, laying 11 tackles and kicking a goal.

I’m tempting fate again by listing players to have featured for both Box Hill and Frankston (because I’ll leave someone out), but most recently we’ve seen the likes of Kalem Post, Mason De Wit and current ‘Dollies’ skipper Trent Mynott represent both of Friday night’s combatants.

2023 So Far…

The Hawks dropped their fourth match of the season last weekend, falling to the Doggies by 20-points on a challenging and frustrating day at Box Hill City Oval.

The loss snapped Box Hill’s five-match winning run and sets up a relatively straightforward scenario for Zane Littlejohn’s men: win and the Club will secure third place. Lose and, depending on results elsewhere, we could fall to fifth.

So, it’s a good idea to take care of our own business and lock away that top four spot, yeah?

As for the Dolphins, they’ve had a better season than the ladder would indicate.

Sitting on just four wins from their 17 matches, the raw number belies the fact they’ve had three losses by three or less points. Moreover, had just one of those results fallen their way they’d be three places higher on the ladder.

Selection News

The Hawks made five changes to the side which lost last weekend, re-gaining flyers Bailey Macdonald and Seamus Mitchell, while handing opportunities to developing stars Kye Agosta and Lachie Wynd.

Owing to the AFL side playing on Sunday, the Hawks will likely want to hold one or two extra players over as cover, which is why Tyler Brockman, Max Ramsden, Jai Serong and Ned Long all make way.

One(s) to Watch

I’m going to be both diplomatic and a complete cop out in suggesting the ones to watch this week are… the whole team!

Whether AFL or VFL-listed, the talent which has represented the Box Hill Hawks in 2023 has come together week in, week out to overcome the myriad of setbacks and challenges a VFL season throws at you.  

We are not the team which lowered its colours last weekend; we are the team which has earned the right to finish in the the top four.

Win and we’ve done so. 

How To Follow

Hawks fans can keep up-to-date with all the action via our official social media channels.

Curated match commentary will be provided on Twitter, while further coverage will be available across Instagram and Facebook.

Where To Watch

All VFL matches can be streamed via the AFL app. Coverage of Sunday’s game starts at 2:00pm and can be found in the match hub or via this link.

Further, radio commentary can be found via our community radio partner, 3WBC 94.1FM.