By Daniel Dufty
In a tough clash at Box Hill City Oval, Box Hill Hawks ran away 27 point victors against Sandringham.
The Hawks led by Josh Kennedy (30 possessions, 8 tackles) magnificent in the midfield and Sam Gibson (22 possessions, 5 goals) brought Box Hill to a hard fought victory.
Tom Lynch (3 goals) with St.Kilda players Raphael Clarke and Leigh Fisher fought bravely for the Zebras as their best in a heavy-hitting contest.
Meaningful, the win places Box Hill Hawks in the top four at fourth position on the VFL Ladder with a healthy percentage of 112.60.
Evenly matched goal for goal early, Box Hill’s eight-goal third quarter proved the difference.
Heavy tackling and contested possession football played consistent as Sandringham stayed in touching distance until broken toward the end of the third.
Slow-scoring opened the contest with Sandringham forward Nick Sautner pushing through his 800th VFL goal in the opening stages of the first term.
Turnovers provided the Hawks with answers. With a late surge, three late goals two via Ben Smithwick saw a slender one-point lead at the break.
Looking for faster movement of the football, Box Hill opened up at 14 point lead mid-way through the second. Sam Iles (27, 6 tackles) well and truly had the Zebras undone in all facets as the Hawks continued to pressure.
Breaking the game open with eight goals through the third created the momentum for the rest of the clash. Matt Maguire good all day was instrumental in the third trying to lift the Zebras but the game looked out of reach. Sam Gibson placed the icing on the cake for the Hawks with a goal minutes before the final siren.
Lachlan McQueen-Miscamble’s holding of Nick Sautner to only 2 goals proved vital to the Hawks victory. Constant spoiling and hard running out of defence by McQueen-Miscamble and Lukas Markovic (19, 10 marks) allowed the Hawks to fire down back while the Zebras searched for other means of displacing Box Hill defensively.
Hawthorn Rookie Hayden Kiel (26) looked classy while Cameron Pedersen (2 goals) and Liam Shiels (25) tirelessly worked around the ground.
Brendan Whitecross (23) also brought a large Box Hill City Oval crowd in rapturous applause with “Mark of the Day” late in the third complemented with a goal making the mark even sweeter.
Congratulations to Nick Sautner who kicked his 800th VFL Goal and Andy Biddlecombe who played his 100th game of VFL Football.
Unbeaten in its four starts at home, Box Hill faces Werribee Tigers next Sunday 28th June at Box Hill City Oval. Sandringham face Coburg Tigers in a must win game to stay in touching distance of the eight.
Special for the club, Box Hill Hawks Co-Captain Steve Kenna plays his 50th game for the club.
Box Hill Hawks: 5.3 / 9.5 / 17.7 / 19.10.124
Sandringham: 5.2 / 9.3 / 12.5 / 15.7.97
Box Hill Hawks Goals: S. Gibson 5, B. Smithwick 2, A. Yze 2, C. Pedersen 2, B. Whitecross 2, L. Breust, J. Kennedy, L. Shiels, E. Curnow, J. Cass, S. Kenna
Best: J. Kennedy, S. Gibson, H. Kiel, S. Iles, C. Pedersen, L. McQueen-Miscamble
Sandringham Goals: T. Lynch 3, J. Steven 2, D. Gallagher 2, N. Sautner 2, S. Dempster, J. Gwilt, P. Summers, R. Gilchrist, R. Clarke, M. Maguire
Best: T. Lynch, R. Clarke, J. Steven, L. Fisher, M. Maguire, R. Stanley
Last Modified on 22/06/2009 11:33