Preview: Hawks Set For Top Four Showdown
The Box Hill Hawks return to VFL action off the bye, heading north to tackle Southport in a potential finals preview on Saturday morning.
It’s a bumper opening to Round 20 of the VFL fixture, with the first placed Hawks squaring off against the third placed Sharks and the second placed Bulldogs hosting the fourth placed Giants.
Who: Southport
Where: Fankhauser Reserve, Southport
When: Saturday, 11:35am
TV/Streaming: live stream available via the VFL Match Centre
Past Three Meetings
Round 16, 2024: Southport 16.11 107 def. Box Hill 7.12 54
Round 9, 2023: Box Hill 11.18 84 def. Southport 6.9 45
Round 16, 2022: Box Hill 8.11 59 def. by Southport 10.14 74
A Little Bit of History
Played 3 (since 2022) – Box Hill 1, Southport 2
The Hawks and Sharks have played just three matches against one another since the Queensland powerhouse entered the VFL competition in 2021.
The Sharks have been sensational in their short time in the VFL and have twice qualified for the Grand Final… sadly for the boys from Queensland, they’ve twice come up short.
Southport lead the head-to-head with Box Hill two wins to one, including a win the first time the sides butted heads back in round 16, 2022 and victory in the most recent meeting between the teams in round 16, 2024.
In that last match-up the Sharks got the jump on the visiting Hawks, booting three goals in the opening five minutes to establish an early lead and control of the contest.
Southport improved their 26-point quarter time advantage to 33-points come half-time and Box Hill were able to get as close as 21-points during the third term… but the all-important next goal always proved elusive.
The Hawks searched for the first goal of the final term and managed just two behinds through seven minutes, only for the Sharks to kick majors at the eight, 13, 17 and 19 minute marks to blow the game apart.
A Denver Grainger-Barras goal provided brief respite for the visiting Box Hill, but a further two Southport six-pointers brought an end to a six-goal to one final frame and the match itself.
The Sharks’ prime movers, Jacob Dawson, Boyd Woodcock and Brayden Crossley were the three highest ranked players on the ground, while Hawks’ skipper Cal Porter and eventual Col Austen Trophy winner Jai Serong were among the best for the brown and gold.
Box Hill got the better of the Sharks a year earlier, besting an off-colour Southport by 39-points in round nine, 2023 at Box Hill City Oval.
Truthfully, it was a somewhat unremarkable game in that the Hawks eased away from the visitors, kicking two, three, two and four goals in each quarter.
The winning margin might have been bigger if not for some wayward kicking, with Box Hill’s return of 11.18 a point of frustration on the day and here in the aftermath.
Max Hall was excellent for the Hawks, winning 17 touches, taking seven marks, laying seven tackles and kicking two goals; Cal Porter won nine clearances from 20 total disposals; Jaylon Thorpe booted 3.3 from 10 disposals and six marks; and current West Coast Eagle and the no.1 pick in the 2023 Mid-Season Draft, Ryan Maric, kicked 2.2 from 15 touches and eight marks.
The Season So Far
Box Hill – played 15, won 13, lost two – first on the VFL ladder; form W, W, W, W, W
Southport – played 15, won 11, lost three, drawn one – third on the VFL ladder; form L, L, W, W, W
The Hawks hit the third of three fixtured byes last weekend in sensational form. A game clear atop the ladder, six wins in succession, the best percentage in the competition, the fourth most potent attack and the second most miserly defence.
Away to Williamstown a fortnight ago and 16-points in arrears with a quarter to play, Box Hill produced one of their best bursts of the season to date.
Having kicked the first of the last quarter via veteran Luke Breust, Zane Littlejohn’s men were still 15-points behind as the quarter ticked into time on, only for best-afield Ned Reeves to kickstart the comeback.
The big Noodle marked and goaled on 20 minutes, won the clearance and dished the ball off to Trent Bianco for his incredible snap on 22 minutes, marked and narrowly missed a set shot on 24 minutes and sharked the ruck and snapped truly to give his side the lead on 27 minutes.
Jai Serong’s second iced the game and the points two minutes later and the Hawks had, remarkably, turned the match on it’s head.
Reeves’ 3.1, 13 touches, five marks, 40 hit outs and seven clearances were integral, while Serong’s 2.0 and 25 touches were just as important.
The win moved the Hawks to 13-2 on the season and sets up a mouth-watering opportunity: a Box Hill victory against Southport this weekend will lock in a top two finish on the VFL ladder and the opportunity to host home finals.
Southport are 11-3-1 on the season, with two of those three losses coming in the past five – to Collingwood and Sydney.
In fact, the Sharks’ season – and recent run of form – share some unique similarities with the Hawks…
Both teams defeated Williamstown last time out, both are on winning streaks and sit in the top four and both sides last lost to Collingwood.
Against Williamstown last weekend the Sharks conceded an early lead to the Seagulls, trailing by 13-points at the first change, before kicking 6.4 to 1.1 in the second to turn the match on it’s head.
Willy kicked eight of the last 12 goals of the day to close to within 22-points come the final siren, but the hosts had done more than enough between the 12 minute mark of the second term and 27 minute mark of the third – kicking 11 goals to two in this time – to gap the ‘Gulls on their way to a massive four points.
Southport are a game-and-a-half behind the ladder-leading Hawks and just two points adrift of Footscray in the race for both the minor premiership and top two finish. They come into the match knowing a win keeps both possibilities alive.
The Hawks finish the home and away season with engagements against Southport (3rd), Footscray (2nd) and Casey (9th), while Southport close out their campaign playing Box Hill (1st), Werribee (15th) and North Melbourne (12th).
Selection News
Zane Littlejohn and his match committee have made five changes for Saturday’s match-up, re-gaining the dashing Bailey Macdonald, re-calling the developing Box Hill listed trio of Nathan Philactides, Jack Sammartino and Blake Simondson and handing a debut to Will Kellar.
Out of the side goes Cody Anderson and Seamus Mitchell with injury niggles, Sam Durdin will illness, the managed Ben Cavarra and Jack Baldwin.
One(s) To Watch
Coming off 25 touches and two goals against Williamstown it’s got to be the in-form, versatile Jai Serong.
‘Sez’ has played 14 of a possible 15 games for Box Hill in 2025, performing and excelling in just about every role you can think of.
Whether he’s deployed as a key back, on the wing & through the midfield or floating forward, the 22-year-old is averaging 20.5 touches and seven marks a week – and if he’s front of centre he’s a credible goal threat, as last weekend showed.
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 at 3WBC 94.1FM
Where To Watch
You can catch the live stream via the VFL match centre.
