VFLW Match Report: Round 11 vs Box Hill 

07/07/2025

A rough trip to Box Hill sees us keen to get back home next week

Photography by Jake Phillips 

Despite the tough loss, we still sit strong in third heading into the business end of the season.

With the stakes high as second place was pitted against third, we were up for the challenge early, with Deanna Jolliffe setting the tone inside the first 15 seconds with a pair of strong tackles inside our defensive 50. The ball soon transitioned into our forward 50 as we hit the scoreboard for the first time at the 11-minute mark thanks to some strong forward pressure from Jordy Membrey, but her subsequent shot at goal just went across the face. Box Hill responded shortly after with their lone goal of the quarter, but we remained well and truly in the contest, with just a seven-point deficit heading into the first break.

The change of ends paid immediate dividends as we quickly fired the ball into our forward 50, with some fancy footwork from Chloe Saultry nearly creating a memorable goal, but her effort narrowly missed for a behind. As was the case in our first quarter, Box Hill capitalised on our missed opportunities, and quickly opened up a 25-point lead midway through the second quarter. Imogen Evans looked to respond, firing a shot at goal that had many in the crowd thinking we'd have our first major of the day, but an unlucky bounce saw the ball collide with the post, only registering a behind. A late set shot from Makhaela Bluhm resulted in a behind, cutting the Hawks’ lead to 23 just before the halftime siren.

Despite some promising signs in the first half, the third quarter was where the Hawks were able to gain separation, building their lead to 51 while keeping us off the scoreboard. We refused to lie down though and saw out the game strongly. A centre clearance from Chloe Saultry nearly registered one of the longest goals of the season, but again the bounce of the ball wasn’t in our favour, as it hit the post. Our star forwards Sophie Locke and Arianna Clarke linked up late in the piece, with Locke fending off a defender before putting the ball on the chest of Clarke in front of goal. While Clarke’s shot narrowly missed, we only had to wait a couple more minutes to put one through the big sticks, as Zoe Barbakos got deep into her bag of tricks to sidestep a defender and calmly snap one home on her left foot. It would turn out to be one of the final key moments in the game, as the siren sounded on a 61-point win for the Hawks.

Top Performers 

After a strong performance last week, captain Grace Hodder continued her form, with 17 disposals and five tackles to her name. She was well-supported in the midfield though, as Imogen Evans collected 18 disposals herself, while Abbey Tregellis finished with 15 disposals and four clearances.

In a busy day in defence, Stacey Livingstone stood tall, finding the footy 14 times and laying three tackles. At the other end, Jordy Membrey was lively and unlucky to not finish with a goal to her name, having 12 kicks and bringing down five marks. Our goal scorer Zoe Barbakos put in a spirited effort from start to finish, adding to her work on the scoreboard with 12 disposals and a team-high six tackles.

Sandringham Zebras:              0.2        0.5       0.5        1.7         (13)

Box Hill Hawks:                         1.3        4.4       8.8        11.8       (74)        

Visit the VFL website for full stats. 

The Zebs will look to turn things around and confirm a spot in the Rebel VFLW Finals series when Geelong come to town on Saturday at 2:05pm!

Written by Jake Beddard - Sandringham FC Media