Round 3 Match Report

Box Hill staged a remarkable comeback to down Sandringham on Sunday, with victory catapulting the two-and-one Hawks into competition’s top eight for the first time this season.

The win capped a rollicking afternoon at Trevor Barker Beach Oval in which Sam Mitchell’s men lead by five goals at the 30-minute mark of the first quarter, only to concede 11 unanswered majors to trail by 37-points at the long break.

A superb final term – which saw the Hawks kick six goals to the end that had seen five goals in the previous three quarters – was enough to secure the visitors a famous four points.

Box Hill enjoyed a small win early when Damian Mascitti won the toss and elected to kick with a strong breeze in the first term.

With debutant Josh Deluca in the thick of the action the Hawks started the better. Mascitti opened the scoring with a behind inside a minute and the visitors controlled the bulk of possession and territory in the lead-up to Jai Newcombe’s opening goal shortly after.

Sandy, however, would prove tricky to shake and rallied to kick two of the next three goals to tie the scores at 13-apiece.

Five on the bounce gave the Hawks what seemed a commanding break deep into time on, with goals from Greene, Morris, Kilpatrick and a pair to crafty small forward Tyler Brockman putting Box Hill in the box seat.

Sandringham pulled two back at the death to serve notice that you could score into the breeze and the game was well and truly alive.

Given the state of the contest and potential advantage of those conditions, a three-goal lead seemed short of par. And so it proved.

When play resumed the Zebras picked up where they left off. In a breathtaking display of attacking footy the hosts kicked nine unanswered goals in the third quarter, keeping Box Hill to two behinds and skipping away to a 37-point half-time lead.

Requiring all the grit and determination they could muster to make a game of it, the Hawks returned to the field full of belief that all they needed was the next goal.

James Blanck got the first, Mynott the second, the superb Adduci provided the third and fourth and when Brayden Kilpatrick kicked the fifth the margin was just four points.

The hosts’ found a timely reply to break Box Hill’s run on, but it was a brief reprieve. Lachie Walker split the middle late in the term to draw his side back to within a kick and the teams went to their huddles knowing it was all to play for in a big last quarter.

The wind, which had dictated much of the scoring all afternoon, died down just in time for play to get back underway, and when Mascitti teed up Greene Box Hill lead for the first time since mid-way through the second term.

A beautiful field kick, Michael Hartley showed he was just as adept kicking towards goal and all of a sudden Sandy’s lead was quickly becoming a worrying deficit.

Best afield, Vincent Adduci turned provider when he found Greene for his third of the day, before Mascitti’s kick to the top of the square was expertly plucked by the former Western Bulldog to kick his fourth.

When Daniel Howe kicked truly from a tight angle the Hawks’ lead was 29-points.

Sandringham kicked their only goal of the term to make things nervy, but it was nothing more than scant consolation by the time Greene kicked goal number five to cap a superb individual performance and an outstanding team effort.

Goals: Greene 5, Adduci 3, Brockman, Kilpatrick 2, Blanck, Hartley, Morris, Mynott, Newcombe, Walker, Howe

Disposals: Deluca 29, Howe 29, Mascitti 25, Adduci 20, Nash 20, Newcombe 20