Seniors: Solid 4 Quarter Performance Sees Hawks Back On Top

Box Hill Hawks finished with a 100-point win over Coburg on the weekend to reclaim top spot on the Peter Jackson VFL ladder. Unfortunately the win came with bad news as Hawthorn listed player Alex Woodward was taken out of the game early after he suffered an injury to his knee.

Box Hill welcomed back their Captain David Mirra for the game, who returned after suffering an ankle injury in Round 11 against Collingwood.

Mirra was incredibly happy to return and snatch such a huge win over Coburg at their home ground.

“Having a couple of weeks off makes you really miss getting out there and playing with the guys, so it feels great to be back in the team and get a win.”

The plan for the game was simple according to Mirra, for every player to put in an “honest effort”.

“We spoke about tackling, hard ball gets and spoils, just all the basics. We knew if we got that right at the start then we would be a chance of winning.”

It was a tough start to the game, with Alex Woodward going down clutching onto his knee. He was stretchered off the ground and taken to hospital.

“It’s shattering to see a team mate go down so early,” Mirra said.

“When he went down we got together and said that we wanted to put in a big performance for him.”

The injury is to the same knee that Woodward had previously injured. Both Hawthorn and Box Hill are waiting to hear from specialists on the extent of the injury.

There was only one point in the game where Coburg got the better of Box Hill.

In the second quarter Coburg came out strong kicking three goals in a row. Mirra puts the goals down to a few simple mistakes made by the Hawks.

“The goals were a result of players being undisciplined, we gave away a few free kicks which led to Coburg goals.”

The mistakes were quickly made up for with a mark inside 50 from Teia Miles, who rather than taking the kick, hand passed the ball to team mate Shem Tatupu who had a better shot at goal.

The play was one of many similar throughout the game and a true demonstration of Box Hill’s selfless playing style.

“It’s really important to play as a team. When we put in a team performance we play much better football, so to be selfless and to sacrifice a little bit of your own game is really important for us.” Mirra said.

“We are a team and the better we play as a team, the more high quality performances and wins we will have.”

This was evident in the way the Hawks took control of the game. Box Hill finishing with 10 individual goal kickers.

On the final siren the scoreboard showed Box Hill on 161 points, a massive 100-point difference to Coburg’s 61 points. The Hawks taking the win with confidence as they climb back into top spot on the ladder.

Box Hill will play Werribee at Avalon Airport Oval next week for the beyondblue Cup.

 

Final Scores

Box Hill Hawks: 7.2 14.2 18.3 26.5 (161)

Coburg: 2.3 6.4 6.10 8.13 (61)

Goals: Anderson 6, Tatupu 4, Simpkin 3, Sicily 3, Ceglar 2, Pittonet 2, Grimley 2, O’Brien, Hardisty, Miles, O’Donnell

Best: Anderson, Simpkin, O’Rourke, Ceglar, O’Donnell, O’Brien

 

Photo Credit: Jenny Owens