AMBUSHED

by Barry from Beach Road

Sandringham succumbed to the wind, the rain and a far more committed and disciplined Box Hill Hawks at the Trevor Barker Beach Road Oval on Sunday. The Hawks won the hard slog in difficult conditions by 15 points pushing the Zebras from first to third place on the VFL ladder.

Box Hill took advantage of the best conditions of a bad day for football and booted eight goals to virtually seal the game by quarter time. After Sandy spearhead Nick Sautner scored the first goal of the day against the wind, a touch of arrogance crept into the Zebra makeup. The team dropped its guard for a fatal ten minutes and was ambushed by a determined Box Hill combination. During that period, the visitors had all the answers while the home side stumbled and made some fundamental errors like kicking short into the wind and to a contest, leaving the goal square unguarded for a couple of goals and giving away needless free kicks within scoring distance of the opposition's goal. They fell right into Box Hill's trap and by the time the siren sounded to end the opening stanza, trailed by 38 points.

There were very few players able to hold their heads high in the huddle but to their credit the Zebras managed to regroup after the first break but there was a problem. They had given away too great a lead and had to play catch up football all the way to the final siren and while they managed to whittle down the Box Hill lead in every quarter, poor kicking for goal dented any chance they may have held for victory.

The fact that Box Hill kicked only four goals after the first break and still managed a relatively comfortable winning margin tells most of the story.

The rest of the story is that Sandringham was sloppy in front of goal and, despite looking stronger around the ground for the last three quarters, it allowed the Hawks to dictate how the game was being played. Sandy was often forced wide and struggled to go direct even with the wind. The result was a wasteful result on the scoreboard. This wastefulness was accentuated when Box Hill kicked the last two goals of the opening half against the wind. These goals were to prove invaluable in the final wash up.

The Zebra cause was not assisted by the elements, particularly after half time when the rains came down and scoring was made all the more difficult. Sandy had more of the play and even outscored Box Hill when kicking against the wind in the third quarter, but the top heavy forward line simply couldn't find the goals often enough. Perhaps, a smaller crumber like Tomi Johnston who booted five in the reserves might have helped on the day. Meanwhile, Box Hill's only goal of the second half was a long booming shot with the wind after a free kick was awarded against the Zebras for a ruck infringement

Despite a noticeable lift in intensity in the final term from the likes of Peter Summers and Matthew Whelan, the Zebra efforts were smothered and stifled by a disciplined defensive Box Hill outfit intent on keeping them at bay. The strategy worked with the Hawks wasting away the final minutes while Sandringham tried unsuccessfully to push for goals. They managed to score one solitary major with a strong wind at their backs in the final quarter.

Better Sandy players on the day were Matthew Warnock and Andy Biddlecombe (although outsized by bigger opponents). They held the defence together under difficult conditions along with young Colin Garland who assisted them manfully and showed loads of promise. Summers in the middle and Rod Crowe up forward were good contributors.

Unfortunately, eight goals from 28 shots at goal (more if you count a couple that went out of bounds on the full) is not the sort of dividend that helps to secure victory. In its past two matches Sandringham has posted 23 goals 37 behinds to 24.17. The forwards will need to be more accurate with their disposal if they are to overcome old rival Port Melbourne at TEAC Oval on Sunday. The Borough hit top form and destroyed Werribee at the same ground last week while Sandy has lost two out of its last three outings putting it under more intense pressure than at any time since its triple premiership run began in 2004.

HOW THE DEMONS FARED

Jace Bode - tried hard but failed to impress and finished on the umpire's report sheet.

Simon Buckley - flashed in and out of the play and looked good at times but wasn't able to stamp his authority on the game.

Lynden Dunn - just went in the dismal conditions and never looked like being a threatening player.

Colin Garland - you would expect a Tasmanian to do well in these conditions and he didn't let the team down. Played exceptionally well when his side was under fire in the first half.

Chris Johnson - started at half back, was injured early in the game and replaced before quarter time not to be seen again for the day. The injury appears to be a hamstring and he looks like being out for a few weeks.

Brad Miller - frozen out early, then on and off the ground as coach Williams juggled his top heavy forward line around. Never really got going which was a major disappointment after last week's six goal performance.

Shane Neaves - lowered his colours in the ruck and was, at best, patchy around the ground.

Michael Newton - started the game on the bench but when he got his opportunity on the ground he was more than useful. Kicked three goals, worked his butt off and went in hard enough for the ball in an attempt to satisfy his AFL coach to consider him this week given the skipper's out with a broken thumb. Would be better if he could time his leaps for the big marks a bit better and not attempt a screamer at every available half opportunity.

Byron Pickett - not even the striped jumper could hide the fact that he's still carrying a bit too much in the girth. Was among the best early, intimidated a few Box Hill defenders and kicked a magnificent goal on the run in the second quarter. However, by the final quarter, he seemed spent so I can't see him getting up for AFL selection on a five day break!

Matthew Warnock - the pick of the defenders. Played with dash and handled the conditions reasonably well all day.

Matthew Whelan - not his best game although he did get better as proceedings went on. Probably needs another run at this level.

Sandringham 2.2.14 6.9.45 7.14.56 8.20.68

Box Hill Hawks 8.4.52 11.5.71 12.8.80 12.11.83

Goals

Sandringham Newton Sautner 3 Pickett 2

Box Hill Hawks Thorp 4 Little 2 Breese Gibson McEntee Marguccio Moss Tuck

Best

Sandringham Warnock Pickett Whelan Summers Crowe Garland

Box Hill Hawks Kennedy Renouf Thorp Breese Thurgood Smith

Report

Sandringham Jace Bode for misconduct (kneeing) G. Moss from Box Hill in the first quarter.

The reserves turned the tables on Box Hill when they led all day to run out 21 point victors. Tomi Johnston picked up five goals and was the best small man on the ground while his former Sandringham Dragons teammate and Victorian Under 18 representative Sam Monaghan shone all day. Daniel Hayes was again prominent and looks full of promise.

Sandringham 4.5.29 10.8.68 12.12.84 14.20.104

Box Hill Hawks 3.6.24 6.7.43 9.10.64 12.11.83

Goals

Sandringham Johnston 5 Gileno Gribbin 2 Gilchrist Hayes Martyn Turcarelli Zarra

Box Hill Hawks Cook Conyers 3 Hill 2 Collins Daniher King Marcius

Best

Sandringham Monaghan Hayes Martyn Johnston Gilchrist Tregear

Box Hill Hawks O'Sullivan Marcius Augustin Weinert King Conyers