VFL Match Report: Round 15 vs Box Hill
07/07/2025
The Zebs gave it their all against the ladder-leading Hawks, ultimately just falling short in the last quarter
Photography by Ollie Tory
Coming up against the top-of-the-table Box Hill Hawks was always going to be a tough task, however we put our best foot forward to open the game, controlling early possession and applying high pressure, making life difficult for Box Hill.
The great start was paying off with the footy finding open space inside the forward 50, where Alex Dodson soccered the ball off the ground and through for the first goal of the game.
The Hawks woke up, but our backline was calm and composed, weathering the storm, stopping multiple defensive entries and always finding a way out of trouble.
Play opened up, seeing the football zip from end to end, as both teams were wanting to go quickly off the rebound.
Late in the quarter Harry Boyd had the perfect tap from a stoppage, finding Paddy Dow on the run, wasting no time in sending the ball deep inside 50.
Unfortunately, time would run out, but with both sides being inaccurate, we were only 15 points down.
Dow and Ryan Byrnes found plenty of possessions as they both finished the first quarter with eight disposals.
Max Heath asserted his dominance to start the second quarter, winning a free kick in the ruck contest and sending the ball in deep.
Yet again we had gotten off to a fast start, which Hugh Boxshall made count on the scoreboard, slotting through a tough set shot from the pocket after winning a free kick for a high tackle.
With the midfield on top, Zak Jones got his hands on the footy, racing off, taking a bounce and finding Jonah Campigli for a mark inside 50.
Campigli went back and kicked truly from 45 metres out to put the deficit at only four points.
Heath continued to out-duel his opposing ruck, and with Jack Carroll and Dodson taking some great intercept marks across halfback, Box Hill had no choice but to play the possession game.
The Hawks didn’t account for Ethan Williams’ ability to read and cut off their play as he intercepted a switch kick, sending us on the counterattack where the ball found Heath for a mark.
He had no problem threading through his shot from the angle to end the half - we were right in this game, trailing by five points.
The midfield dominance was capped off by Boxshall having five clearances, to go along with six tackles.
Opening up the second half, James Barrat leaped over his opponents, taking the mark of the day, while Campigli followed it up with a big pack mark of his own on the wing.
Our intention in the second half was clearly to play with more pace as the ball was flying from end to end when we had possession, more-often-than-not catching the Hawks napping and leading to scoring opportunities.
Again, Heath was getting on top in the ruck contests, winning multiple frees.
His impact didn’t stop there though, as Heath leapt over a pack taking a massive intercept mark in the defensive 50. Wasting no time, a quick switch sent us on the attack and only a few moments later Ned Maginness marked the ball and had the chance to put us in front.
Maginness had no trouble kicking it through the middle and was now on top of the battle of brothers, but more importantly, we had a two-point lead.
For the last part of the third, Box Hill were on top, but under attack, Barrat didn’t back down as a ferocious tackle would win him a free kick for holding the ball deep in defence.
Despite some good patches of play for the Zebs, we were down by 20 points going into the last quarter.
To get back into this, we needed to make the first strike in the fourth, and that’s exactly what we did.
More magic from the centre bounce led to Jones racing out of the middle, where he’d be ducking and weaving through traffic, eventually getting tackled high. From the free kick, Jones had no trouble finding Boxshall, where his set shot went through for a goal.
The momentum was well and truly on our side, and more fast ball movement meant that Lance Collard was left alone out the back. Wasting no time, the midfielders sent the footy his way, where Collard marked it and unopposed, played on around the corner, snapping through a goal.
The ball was living in our forward 50, eventually leading to Jez Rigoni drawing a high free kick and from 25 metres out, kicking a goal, making it just a one-point game.
Once more the ball was flying into our forward half, and again, Box Hill couldn’t deal with the pressure, something Collard had no trouble sniffing out, tying up his man and getting a free for holding the ball.
His snap across goal sailed wide for a point but with that we were all tied up with plenty of time left.
We gave it our all for the remainder of the game, but unfortunately Box Hill finished the quarter with momentum and in the end won by 44 points.
Sandringham Zebras: 1.3 4.4 5.6 8.8 (56)
Box Hill Hawks: 3.7 4.9 7.14 14.16 (100)
Goals: Hugh Boxshall 2, Jez Rigoni 1, Ned Maginness 1, Max Heath 1, Alex Dodson 1, Lance Collard 1, Jonah Campigli 1
Disposals: Ryan Byrnes 27, Zak Jones 26, Jack Carroll 25, Paddy Dow 23, Max Heath 21
Visit the VFL website for full stats.
The Zebs will be back in action on Sunday 13th July at 11:05am against the Sydney Swans at Wilson Storage Trevor Barker Beach Oval.
Written by Thomas Dev - Sandringham FC Media