Semi Final Match Preview

The Hawks and Bulldogs kick-off the second week of VFL Finals with an early start at Box Hill City Oval. Keep on reading for a tale of the tape!

Who: Footscray
Where: Box Hill City Oval
When: Saturday 9 September
First bounce: 11:30am

A Little Bit of History

In a somewhat pleasing and opportunistic twist, I covered this as recently as Box Hill and Footscray’s meeting back in round 21 – just four weeks ago.

The ‘Scray got the points that day, controlling proceedings to lead by 13-points at the first change, 12-points at half-time, 13-points come the final break and, ultimately, 20-points at the final siren.

Fergus Greene lead all-comers on the ground with three goals, while Damian Mascitti was named his side’s best on the back of 25 touches, 10 rebound 50s and eight marks.

It was a difficult and disappointing day for those in Brown and Gold, but despite their struggles the Hawks drew to within just seven points after a Tyler Brockman goal early in the last term, but the all-important next goal eluded Zane Littlejohn’s men.

In the end, like last week out at Werribee, the difference was less than a kick a quarter. Fine margins.

The Run In to September

The Hawks finished the home and away season with six wins form its last seven matches, with the only blemish coming against Footscray.

Otherwise the team accounted for Port Melbourne, GWS, North Melbourne, Richmond, Sandringham and the Dolphins to finish third on the ladder.

As for Footscray, they started the year two-and-six before going on a tear to conclude their 2023 campaign. After back-to-back defeats to Werribee and the Gold Coast the ‘Scray navigated the remaining 10 rounds of the season flawlessly, racking up seven 100+ point scores (and a 97) to finish sixth. 

With the Whitten Oval currently undergoing works and unplayable, the Bulldogs had the option of choosing where to ‘host’ their Elimination Final against Casey, ultimately settling on Box Hill City Oval. A potentially canny ploy given their match with the Demons became a case of ‘winner stays on.’

In the end they defeated the reigning premier by 79-points, with Caleb Poulter superb kicking 3.2, Lachlan Sullivan tallying 34 touches and the trio of Riley Garcia, Buku Khamis and Charlie Clarke also booting three goals each.

Ticketing and Entry

As was the case in week one of the finals series, we recommend pre-purchasing tickets via this link. Please note: there will be no cash sales on the gate. Tickets can be purchased on arrival via card, but entry is subject to capacity.

One(s) to Watch

I can’t go past the returning Stu Horner.

A heart-and-soul player, he’s as hard-working and hard-nosed as they come. He’ll be given a difficult job on a dangerous Dogs forward and, if history is in any guide, he’ll get that job done.

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

This weekend’s match will be broadcast on Channel 7! So tune in via the ol’ set in the living room or their 7plus streaming app from 11:30am.

Additionally, all VFL matches can be streamed via the AFL app. Coverage of Sunday’s game starts at 11:30am 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.