Box Hill Hawks reached a sixth-consecutive finals series and had another player added to an AFL list.
However, the Hawks’ 2024 campaign ended in disappointment courtesy of an upset elimination final defeat.
BY THE NUMBERS
Position: 7th
W-L-D (%): 12-7 (111.7%)
Players used: 54
Played every match: 2 – Callum Porter, Bodie Ryan
AFL players used: 27 (253 matches)
Ex-AFL players: 5 (52 matches)
Debutants: 16 – Seb Amoroso, Cody Anderson, Calsher Dear, Billy Hicks, Jett Latchford, Remy Maclean, Will McCabe, Christian Moraes, Jye Peacock, Bodie Ryan, Jasper Scaife, Andreas Stefanakis, Josh Tovey, Lane Ward, Nick Watson, Daniel Wood
STAR PERFORMERS
Best and Fairest: 1st: Jai Serong (66 votes), 2nd: Cal Porter (64), 3rd: Henry Hustwaite (51), 4th: Stu Horner (47), 5th: Bailey Macdonald (45)
J.J. Liston Trophy: Seamus Mitchell (9), Finn Maginness (8), Callum Brown (7), Harry Morrison (7), Max Ramsden (6), Josh Ward (6)
Coaches MVP Award: Harry Morrison (38 votes), Finn Maginness (36), Callum Brown (34), Josh Ward (34), Cal Porter (29)
Leading Goalkickers: Jack O’Sullivan (17), Andreas Stefanakis (14), Max Ramsden (13), Jasper Scaife (13), Daniel Wood (13)
Smithy’s VFL Team of the Year: Nil
STAT LEADERS
(Averages – Minimum 6 matches)
Disposals: Callum Brown 29.9, Finn Maginness 28.3, Harry Morrison 27.7, Josh Ward 26.6, Seamus Mitchell 25.1
Contested possessions: Henry Hustwaite 13.0, Max Hall 10.1, Finn Maginness 9.8, Cal Porter 9.5, Josh Ward 8.1
Kicks: Harry Morrison 20.0, Callum Brown 19.1, Seamus Mitchell 17.0, Finn Maginness 16.0, Jai Serong 16.0
Handballs: Henry Hustwaite 14.3, Finn Maginness 12.3, Josh Ward 11.9, Max Hall 11.1, Callum Brown 10.8
Marks: Ethan Phillips 9.9, Harry Morrison 8.7, Seamus Mitchell 7.5, Jai Serong 7.4, Max Hall 6.1
Tackles: Henry Hustwaite 6.8, Cal Porter 6.4, Josh Ward 5.3, Finn Maginness 5.0, Max Hall 4.3
Hitouts: Ned Reeves 30.9, Max Ramsden 16.5, Clay Tucker 9.5, Jasper Scaife 0.9, Daniel Wood 0.2
Clearances: Henry Hustwaite 6.5, Josh Ward 4.9, Finn Maginness 4.6, Callum Porter 4.4, Ned Reeves 3.7
Inside-50s: Josh Ward 5.6, Finn Maginness 5.4, Callum Brown 4.3, Cal Porter 4.3, Harry Morrison 4.1
Rebound-50s: Jai Serong 7.4, Seamus Mitchell 5.3, Callum Brown 4.4, Bodie Ryan 4.1, Harry Morrison 3.4
What went right: Box Hill started the season strongly with four wins in its first five matches, with the Hawks producing some electric footy against Geelong and North Melbourne and overcoming a horror injury to Sam Butler to charge over the top of Sydney. The character to respond after seeing a 42-point lead whittled away by Sandringham in Wonthaggi was outstanding and they reached Round 12 at 8-3. Going 3-1 in single-figure games is a good result. Max Hall’s committed off-season and breakout start to the year saw him get his AFL opportunity with St Kilda in the mid-season draft, Jai Serong had a great third year, Bailey Macdonald an impressive second year and Bodie Ryan a terrific first. And Cal Porter was Cal Porter.
What went wrong: The horror broken leg to Butler about the same time as Ben Cavarra was returning from his ACL robbed the Hawks of an extremely dangerous cog in their wheel, having kicked 10 goals in three and a half matches. Callum Brown went overseas mid-season, costing them crucial drive out of defence. They did not have a player kick 20 goals for the year and as a result the better teams were mostly a level above them, although they did push Werribee to 11 points and beat Geelong twice. While Hall’s selection in the mid-season draft was a great outcome, his departure didn’t help the Hawks. Jaylon Thorpe only managed eight games and then there was the luckless James Parsons, who looked redhot in the opening game against Casey Demons before tearing his achilles.
Summary: Box Hill is a team that always seems to float along under the radar, but it is always thereabouts and extremely tough to defeat. The strength of its VFL squad is the biggest advantage for this proud club as it expertly combines the Mustang spirit with the Hawk expertise – which should be the envy of all clubs to have had an AFL alignment over the past 25 seasons. The Hawks haven’t missed the finals since 2016. As for this year, they would be disappointed to lose a home elimination final to Williamstown but seventh seems like about the right result given they went 3-5 against the top six and 4-6 against the rest of the top 10. They look to have found a couple in Daniel Wood and Andreas Stefanakis as well.
Grade: 7/10
2024 SMITHY'S VFL SEASON REVIEWS
Frankston
Gold Coast Suns
Richmond
Essendon
Sandringham
Sydney Swans
GWS Giants
North Melbourne
Port Melbourne
Casey Demons
Coburg
Carlton
Collingwood
Northern Bullants
