The Box Hill Hawks won their third game on the trot on Saturday, inflicting Casey’s second loss in a row in the process. The three game winning streak is the first for the Hawks since late in the 2011 season, and has broken their yearlong cycle of being unable to record any more than two wins in a row.
Box Hill Hawks coach Damian Carroll has been pleased with his sides start to the season.
“The whole six weeks has been pretty solid.
“We maybe could have beaten Port, and maybe beaten Geelong, but we have been in it each game and would like to think we are being pretty competitive,” Carroll said.
“We just need to keep that output consistent each week.”
The closeness of the competition this season is something that Carroll highlighted going into the round.
“As the results on the weekend show, we were one game off second, but also one game off second bottom going into the round.”
After a tight first term, Box Hill showcased their capabilities in the second quarter with an eight goal unanswered run to head into half time with a commanding 53 point lead. The Hawks made the most of their opportunities in the middle of the ground.
“We thought there were a couple of players elevated to Melbourne that were crucial for Casey, so we thought it was not their strongest side of the year, but to our credit we also had a couple of key players out and we just wanted to win that midfield battle.
“I thought they (the midfield) were terrific giving us first use, and were able to get us inside 50 very clean in the second quarter where we took nine marks inside forward 50 which was a massive stat for us.”
Carroll mentioned his side had prepared for the often breezy conditions at Casey Fields, and tried to limit their possessions in what turned out to be a still and dry day.
“We felt if we could control our ball use, and use it by foot a little bit more it would help us and we were able to get some good chains from the back half today.
“That can be only helped by the run you get from your players to create options and runners for their teammates so I thought that was as best it has been which is good.”
Box Hill Hawks this weekend head away for the third week in a row, this week heading to North Ballarat, with an opportunity to break into the Peter Jackson VFL top four with a win this weekend.
Photo: Jenny Owens
Last Modified on 22/05/2013 16:29