VFLW Round 8 Match Preview

Box Hill will be hoping to secure three straight wins when it hosts Essendon at Box Hill City Oval at 12pm on Saturday.

The two teams are no strangers to close contests, with two of their past three contests ending in draws, meaning this showdown is unmissable.

Check out everything you need to know about the game below.

Who: Essendon 

Where: Box Hill City Oval 

When: Saturday 13 May at 12pm 

At A Glance 

Box Hill and Essendon will be meeting for the second time this season after playing out a draw in Round 1 at The Hangar.

Before a loss to the Bombers in the finals last year, the two sides also drew in the last round of the 2022 regular season.

This season, the Hawks and Bombers are separated by just one place on the ladder, having both recorded four wins, two losses and one draw.

The Who 

The Hawks have recalled a trio of experienced stars and a debutant for Saturday’s blockbuster clash.

After missing Box Hill’s win over Darebin last week, leading ruck Grace Matser and co-vice-captain Jordan Mifsud return, while Hawthorn AFLW forward has recovered from a rib injury and has been named to play for the first time since she sustained the injury in Round 1. 

Making her debut for Box Hill is Eastern Ranges product Hayley McLaughlin, who joins Coates Talent League Girls teammates Laura Stone and Alyssia Pisano in the brown and gold following their dominant debuts last week. 

Essendon has recalled an AFLW forward of its own, with Paige Scott returning to the side alongside former Sydney AFLW player Zoe Hurrell. 

Ones To Watch 

Eastern Ranges midfielder Laura Stone burst onto the scene in her first appearance with the Hawks last week. 

Topping the coaches votes with eight, the 17-year-old recorded 18 disposals, six tackles and three clearances against Darebin.

On top of that, Stone is averaging 23 disposals, six tackles and seven inside 50s in the Coates Talent League Girls competition.

For Essendon, Stephanie Wales hasn’t put a foot wrong since coming into the side in Round 5.

The young ruck is the twin sister of Hawthorn’s Lucy and is averaging 22.7 hit-outs and 17 disposals per game, which makes for an enthralling battle with Box Hill’s Matser. 

How To Follow

Hawks fans can keep up-to-date with all the action via our official social media channels.

Follow us @boxhillvflw on Twitter and @boxhillhawksvflw on Instagram.

And don’t forget to ‘like’ Box Hill Hawks on Facebook.

We’ll be live-tweeting the match and providing further coverage on Instagram and Facebook.

Where To Watch

All VFLW matches can be streamed via AFL.com.au, the AFL Live official app and the VFL app. Coverage of Saturday’s game starts at 12pm and can be found in the match hub or via this link.