BOX HILL Hawks coach Marco Bello says a strong first quarter set up his side’s Round 1 win against Sandringham on Saturday.
The Hawks kicked six goals to four in the opening term, opening up a 16-point advantage, before running out 18.10 (118) to 12.9 (81) victors against the Zebras.
“We’ve got two hard games in the first two rounds in Sandringham and Williamstown, so to be able to put one in the bank and now focus on Williamstown is a good start,” Bello said.
“Scoreboard pressure is a key for Sandringham… We started off really well, kicking two quick goals early, and then stemmed the flow a bit when they started to get on top midway through the first quarter.
“The first quarter really set us up, and we were able to control the game from then on in.”
Bello said there was no shortage of contributors in the 37-point win, which has the Hawks in fourth position on the VFL ladder after the opening round.
“The pleasing thing was you could have thrown a blanket over the 23 really,” Bello said.
“This is the first game this year where we’ve had contributions from all that played, but having said that there’s always going to be the two or three that people like to talk about.”
Among the Hawthorn-listed players, Bello highlighted a number of standouts.
“Dallas Willsmore finished with 26 disposals, despite missing a chunk of the last quarter, Kieran Lovell had 25 and Howe had 24, they were the big three in terms of hands on football,” he said.
“While stats don’t show Brendan Whitecross got a lot of the football (14 disposals), he worked tirelessly to get others onto the game. His forward pressure and pressure collectively was a highlight for us.
“Kaiden Brand had eight marks off ‘oppo’ boat and six spoils, so a really good defensive mindset from him, and Teia Miles – a small defender – finished with two goals, working up and down the ground and making sure his opponent wasn’t solely focused on what was happening at their forward end.”
Bello also praised ruckman Marc Pittonet, who finished with 18 disposals and 20 hit-outs going up against St Kilda-listed duo Billy Longer and Lewis Pierce.
Tim O’Brien finished with three goals for the Hawks, while Howe and Miles chipped in with two apiece.
SCORES
BOX HILL HAWKS 6.4 11.5 15.9 18.10 (118)
SANDRINGHAM 4.0 6.4 9.5 12.9 (81)
Box Hill goals: C. Jones 4, T. O’Brien 3, D. Howe 2, P. Lawlor 2, T. Miles 2, K. Lovell, J. Fisher, D. Willsmore, K. Stewart, B. Whitecross
Box Hill best: S. Iles, B. Whitecross, D. Willsmore, M. Pittonet, D. Mirra, T. O’Brien
