Box Hill Hawks use fast start to get the better of Port Melbourne in Victorian Football League tussle
From the Leader Group Newspapers
Reported by Megan Hustwaite
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IT WAS crucial Box Hill set the tone against Port Melbourne in its VFL blockbuster on Saturday.
The Hawks weren’t rapt with their starts in recent weeks, while last round the Borough burst out of the blocks slamming on 12 first-quarter goals against North Ballarat.
The Hawks spoke about it during the week, pre-match at Box Hill City Oval and then put their plans into action kicking 5.4 to 1.5 in the opening stanza.
They added another three majors, while restricting Port to just one in the second term, and went on to win emphatically, 17.13 (115) to 8.12 (60).
Coach Marco Bello was full of praise for his side, which is now sitting pretty at 6-1 and top of the ladder.
“Port kicked 12.5 in the opening quarter last week and, on average, have won their first quarters by 18 points,” he said. “We haven’t started well and we needed to against Port and then make it a stalemate.
‘’They haven’t blown sides away but their good starts have helped them hold on to win five games.
“You’re never totally satisfied as a coach, but I thought we played very well for three and a half quarters.