The in-form Bendigo Gold claimed another scalp on Saturday after taking apart the Hawks at Box Hill City Oval, as Adem Saricaoglu reports.
The Gold broke away in the last quarter after what was a tight affair, making the better of its opportunities and eventually winning by 32 points in cold and gloomy conditions.
The tone was set from the start, with both teams struggling to get a major on the scoreboard until Adam Pattison broke through for Box Hill 12 minutes in.
Despite the Hawks gaining ascendency throughout the quarter, wayward kicking kept their quarter time lead to just 14.
Luke Andrews soccered a goal early in the second term to quickly extend Box Hill’s lead to 20, but soon after that Bendigo made its move.
Three quick goals to Cory Dell’olio, Travis Colyer and Matt Little brought the Gold back within a point before David Hille kicked his first to put Bendigo in front at the 19-minute mark.
Both teams then traded blows, but by halftime the Gold managed to hold on to its slender three-point lead.
The end-to-end nature of the game continued after the main break, but goals remained hard to come by.
Box Hill playmaker Amos Frank broke the deadlock 17 minutes in, delighting the home fans with a trademark left foot snap to put the Hawks back in front.
However the Gold continued to have all the answers.
Goals to Justin Maddern and Kyle Reimers ensured the Hawks’ lead didn’t last, and by three-quarter time the Gold were out to a two-goal buffer.
Box Hill’s Liam Tobin got one back at the start of the final term, but it didn’t take long for the Gold to turn the game on its head.
Colyer kicked his second goal a minute later before the AFL experience of Hille and Reimers put the result beyond doubt.
As the quarter ticked into time-on, Reimers gathered the ball in the middle, then followed up his own handball inside 50, turned and snapped a goal to finish off the Hawks, before Steve Stroobants broke free from the following centre bounce and goaled to add some gloss to the result.
Bendigo coach Hayden Skipworth was relieved his side broke the game open in the final quarter.
“The score probably didn’t reflect the game in the end,” Skipworth said.
“We got a few late on them, but for three and a half quarters it was a really tight game, and especially in the first quarter I was really worried about how the result was going to go.”
Skipworth acknowledged the impact of Hille, who finished with two goals and 25 disposals, along with Reimers and defender Michael Hibberd as a key factor the longer the game went.
“He (Hille) played some big minutes and we needed every single one of his minutes in the end,” he said.
“Reimers was good in the second half and I thought Michael Hibberd was really good all day across half back as well.
“He’s another guy coming back from injuries and he’ll be pushing his name up for senior selection next week.”
Box Hill coach Damian Carroll was upbeat despite the final score.
“There were some positives you (can) draw out of it, we were pretty good around the footy with the clearances,” Carroll said.
“I thought the effort was good but it’s really hard to win games when you use the ball that badly, and we coughed up the footy that cost us some goals.
“Both sides had enough of the ball to win the game but they used it a lot better going forward and our turnovers cost us four of the first six goals.
“It’s pretty hard to win games when you’re not executing your skills as well as you should.”
The Hawks were missing skipper Daniel Pratt, who was concussed against Williamstown a week earlier, and Carroll said his inclusion would have been helpful on Saturday.
“He’s fine, probably if we were to play tomorrow he’d be fine but you need a week with that concussion and obviously it’s a no risk policy there,” he said.
“We could have done with him, he would have been important, but at the same time we want to make sure that his long term health is cleared up and he’s good to go for the rest of the season.”
Bendigo have now moved to fifth spot on the ladder after winning four in a row, and face an inform Werribee side having won their last five on the trot. Box Hill Hawks this weekend have the bye before hosting Northern Blues in round 14.
Photo: Jenny Owens
Last Modified on 18/06/2012 10:04