Round 9, Monday 9 June
Box Hill City Oval
The Box Hill Hawks fell 35 points short despite a desperate effort in the last quarter, going down to the Bendigo Bombers 18.11.119 to 12.12.84 in the sides’ Queen’s Birthday clash on Monday.
The Hawks trailed by just 10 points midway through the last term and had all the momentum but just couldn’t finish the job.
The Bombers were visibly rattled, with Box Hill’s intensity at the man increasing in the last term. Zac Dawson was thrown forward late and took a soaring mark, but in what looked a bizarre decision, was called by the central umpire to play on which resulted in a ball up.
If Dawson had slotted the regulation goal from five metres out the margin would’ve been cut to four points, instead the Bombers kicked away for an easy 35-point win.
The loss extends the Hawks run without a win to 16 games, with the draw against Frankston in Round 19 last year the only exception.
It also means the Hawks have won just one home game since Round 19, 2006.
Hawks coach Barry Mitchell admitted his side wasn’t good enough but questioned the lop-sided free kick count.
“It was 34-17 to Bendigo, that’s a very (lop sided) count which is frustrating. I’ll have to have a look back at the tape, but as we know you can’t comment about the umpires.”
“We got five goals behind and we came back to a couple of goals, then there was a costly free kick behind the play, I didn’t see what happened, but it went against us and they (Bendigo) ran away from there.”
“There were a few questionable incidents out there but at the end of the day we weren’t good enough.”
“Our use of the ball and our attack on the ball wasn’t good enough across the four quarters.”
Just two spots separated the sides going into the clash, with Bendigo sitting 12th and the Hawks last, but it was Box Hill that went in without a number of key players.
Box Hill went in without key forward Mitch Thorp, defender Tom Murphy, Travis Tuck, Brent Renouf, live wire Cameron Stokes and run-with player Cam Hunter.
In their places came Tom Warby for his first game of the season, ruckman Luke McEntee, forward Cameron Pedersen and young rookie Matt Suckling.
The opening was tough and hard with stoppages stunting the game’s rhythm. Bendigo broke the deadlock with four consecutive goals to enter the first break with a handy 19-point lead.
Brendan Whitecross was doing the brunt of the work in the middle, setting up his team mates whilst getting a lot of it himself.
After giving their forwards no chance in the first term the Hawks started to run hard, shutting down Bendigo’s runners and, in turn, keeping possession of the ball.
Beau Dowler struggled to get into the game but was given no chance too, while Cameron Pedersen presented well.
Box Hill began to dominate in the second term, closing the gap to two points.
Alex Grima was run down two times in five minutes but it said more about the team’s lack of communication than his lack of awareness.
Bendigo closed out the term with three quick fire goals doing undone all the Hawks’ good work.
Joel Cross, one of the youngest players on the field, led by example in the third quarter with his tough tackling and unquestionable attack on the ball.
But Bendigo was well on top and probably should’ve been further ahead at three-quarter time if not for some inexcusable misses.
The Hawks challenged in the last quarter reeling in the five goal deficit and looked set to break their losing streak. It wasn’t to be though, with Bendigo answering the challenge when needed.
The Hawk’s youngsters in Warby, Suckling and McEntee gave the side a different look and the coach a few more options.
Warby was superb in his first game, playing mainly as a sweeping backman. He had 14 touches but it was the way he read the play that stood out.
Mitchell said he was impressed with the young defender and expected a lot more senior footy from him in the future.
“We would have played him a bit earlier in the year but he had a bit of difficulty getting to training because he’s doing a course, but he was very good, we were very happy with how he went today.”
“I would be surprised if he didn’t play another four-five games for the year.”
McEntee who missed ten weeks with a hamstring injury was very handy to have back in the absence of Renouf. He took five marks and had 27 hit outs.
Cameron Pedersen was the other welcome inclusion, he had it 13 times, kicked three goals and pinch-hit in the ruck with 19 hit outs.
Steve Kenna (27 disposals) and captain Al Neville (32) were the other standouts for the Hawks while Dawson, who moved forward late in the game, was very effective.
Mitchell said he expected the likes of Stokes, Murphy, Thorp, Hunter, Renouf and Tuck to be back within the fortnight in a huge boost for the side.
“Our team against Bendigo was probably quite weakened but we’ll definitely give other players a go, players like Garry Conyers he’s been good for a while, he might get a go soon,” he said.
“We just want to win a game and hopefully then we can get a bit of a roll on. We’ve been in these situations a number of times but hopefully we can win four or five games before the end of the year.”
“You’re a chance every week, I mean we were a couple of goals ahead of the top team in the third quarter last week, it’s just about maintaining the intensity for four quarters which unfortunately we haven’t been able to do.”
The Hawks play Werribee at home next Sunday in what looms as a winnable match for the side.
Box Hill Hawks: 1.3 / 4.5 / 7.9 / 12.12 (84)
Bendigo Bombers: 4.4 / 8.5 / 12.8 / 18.11 (119)
Goals: Pedersen 3, Moss 3, Morrell 2, Dawson, Dowler, Grima, Batsanis
Best: Kenna, McEntee, Dawson, Warby, Pedersen, Neville
Hawks In Reserve
Garry Moss – 17 touches, three goals. Had a reasonable game but did a couple of silly things like kicking the ball out on the full when a simple pass was on. Having said that a three goal return is all you can ask of a small forward.
Luke McEntee – eight disposals, five marks, 27 hit outs. Solid return from injury especially given he was asked to do the bulk of the ruck work. Moved around the ground well for a big man and will be a key figure in the coming weeks with the side’s depleted ruck stocks.
Alex Grima – 12 possessions, four marks, one goal. Can’t quite settle down in a position. Played in the middle and was moved forward playing alongside Dawson. He looked effective in that role and relishes the hard stuff. His “crash-and-bash” style suits the side as the Hawks tend to bomb it long quite often.
Matt Suckling – 11 touches, four marks, five tackles – played on the half-back flank and in the middle. Didn’t get into the game but a couple of 60m cross-field balls, lace out to team mates, stood out.
Beau Dowler – 13 disposals, eight marks, one goal. Wasn’t given a great deal of service, made more of his opportunities in the second half. Didn’t take a forward fifty mark and moved up the ground in search of the ball.
Zac Dawson – 12 touches, three marks, one goal. Played on young gun Scott Gumbleton for patches curtailing his influence but stood out when moved forward late. It isn’t the first time that move has been made and he certainly doesn’t look out of place. He crashed a few packs and should’ve had two goals. He tended to draw Bendigo defenders as well.
Brendan Whitecross – 16 possessions, five marks. Looked to be playing himself into form. Was very good in the first half, probably the Hawk’s best but drifted out of the contest as the game wore on. He’s now strung three or four positives games together though which is a positive sign for him.
Timothy Walsh – 14 disposals, nine marks, two goals. Played reserves and could get a chance in the seniors in the coming weeks. He looked very capable up forward. Won a number of one-out contests and showed that he has a strong pair of hands.
