Box Hill Hawks recorded their third win of the season last weekend against Frankston, but as has been the norm so far this season, they did not have the game all their own way. The Hawks failed to kick a major in the first term as Frankston stunned their opponents by opening up a 23 point lead at quarter time. But unlike some of their other close encounters so far this season, the Hawks were able to dig deep, and grind out a 28 point win.
“They dug in deep the boys. Frankston were a very competitive side, and we were under the pump even 15 minutes into the last quarter, it could have gone either way, so it was a challenge for us, but we got over the line and that was terrific,” Box Hill Hawks coach Damian Carroll said.
“We have had an interesting month with a couple of narrow defeats and the boys were starting to drop their heads a bit in terms of the win/loss record, so to get that win was really important for us which was great.”
At quarter time Carroll tried to stress the positives to his side, that despite being down on the scoreboard, the Hawks were ahead on the stats sheet. Despite the positives, there was still some disappointment at the Hawks start to the game.
“There was a lot of frustration – we had 30 more possessions but we were not making an impact on the scoreboard at all. Full credit to Frankston they rolled back pretty well and started a lot of their attacks from the back 50, rebounded well and were clean inside 50,” Carroll said.
“We wanted to emphasise that we were getting our hands on the ball but had to be cleaner, and there was still plenty of time to make up the difference.
“We had to have a better second quarter, we pulled back a couple of goals and then the third quarter was one of our best for the year. Thankfully we were able to hold on in the last.”
The injuries at AFL aligned club Hawthorn have not helped the Hawks, especially in the talls department. David Hale was a late withdrawal from the Box Hill side last weekend, and leading goal kicker Jordan Lisle is in line, along with Hale, to be a ready replacement for injured Hawk Jarryd Roughead.
“It does put pressure on us at Box Hill level, but injuries bring opportunities for others, and certainly a number of those Box Hill listed players are getting that opportunity which is pleasing to see as they work hard on their footy,” Carroll said.
Two Box Hill listed players that would fit into the Hawks best lineup, but have also been struck down by injury this season, are Shaun Pollard and Beau Muston.
“Polly (Pollard) is getting better week by week (4 games back in the reserves) and is more confident in his knee, and Musto is still three or four weeks away but he is back running now which is a real positive for us.
“Both are great footballers, but great leaders as well, and we have probably lacked that with the number of first and second year players in the seniors that we have had playing with us this year .. we have lacked one or two leaders sometimes to help us get over the line.”
Last Modified on 15/06/2011 10:46