Senior Hawks triumph over more experienced Blues

Photograph: Jenny Owen

The Box Hill Hawks Senior team have triumphed in Friday’s third practice game at IKON Park, proving too strong for the Northern Blues to the tune of 31 points.

Despite fielding no Hawthorn-listed players, the Hawks easily dispatched the Blues’ team of AFL-listed players.

The Northern Blues’ AFL experience was evident in the first 15 minutes, with Matthew Watson and Levi Casboult proving difficult to handle for the Hawks defenders as the Blues got out to a seven-point lead early.

Sam Switkowski proved the spark up the other end for the Hawks, kicking two goals in the quarter while fellow Peter Jackson VFL Academy play Chris Jones kicking the Hawks’ other goal to leave the scores level at quarter time.

The Hawks carried their momentum from the first quart into the second, as they began to take control of the play. Dalton Graham was pivotal for the Hawks, collecting 13 disposals for the first half with Patrick Lawlor just as lively, collecting six second-quarter disposals and kicking one goal, two behinds.

A goal to captain David Mirra before the half time put an exclamation on the Hawks’ dominance, with Box Hill taking a 14-point lead into the main break.

The Hawks picked up where they left off in the third term, as Chris Jones nailed a long shot from deep in the pocket to register his second and Peter McEvoy kicked truly from 45-metres out directly in front to extend the lead out to 26 points against their experience opponents.

It took 15 minutes for the Blues to have an answer, with Watson again proving difficult to handle as he handed off the goal to Foster to give the Blues a steadier.

With only a few minutes left, Julian Soccio was the recipient of a down-field free kick inside forward 50, with the defender converting the chance and extending the margin to 26 points at three-quarter time.

Any fear of a lapse in concentration was quickly elapsed in the fourth term, with quick goals to McEvoy and Soccio ending any chance of a Blues’ comeback with Zach Monkhorst kicking the final goal for the Hawks as they registered a comfortable 31-point victory.

Box Hill Hawks       3.3    6.7   9.9   12.9    81
Northern Blues      3.3    4.5   5.7    7.8     50

Goals: Switkowski 2, Jones 2, McEvoy 2, Soccio 2, Mirra, Lawlor, Crocker, Z Monkhorst

Best: TBC