The stiff final quarter breeze which blew to the southern end of City Oval at the weekend, still wasn’t enough to get the home team home, with the Northern Bullants players shutdown by their Box Hill counterparts in Sunday’s Round 5 match in Preston town. 

Carlton Development and Academy Manager Darren Harris said that while the team was overrun by the Hawks, Coach David Teague’s players had performed honestly, in keeping with the season’s trend so far.

“The Bullants boys were disappointed with their performance at the weekend, no doubt about it,” Harris said. “Our ability to sustain pressure and our run just wasn’t there, so the spread from stoppages and the ability to push up and pressure the opposition wasn’t the same as what we normally get.

“Having said that, the Bullants, every week, are never out of the contest. There hasn’t been a game this year where we haven’t been blown away . . . so there’s a consistency of performance, but probably not at the level pressure-wise that we’d like it to be at the moment.”

Harris took the liberty of commending ruckman Robert Warnock and on-baller Mitch Robinson, both of whom are clearly pressing for return call-ups to the Carlton team, together with Joe Anderson, who turned in a tremendous defensive display.

He said that Warnock was making progress in his positioning and intensity around the contests, while Robinson could not be faulted for his commitment both on the track and on matchday.

“The other real positive was for both Austin and Rhys O’Keeffe, who have spent a long time in rehab, to be back playing,” Harris said.

“I thought they were both fantastic, particularly early on in the game before they got fatigued.”

Northern Bullants           3.1,         8.3,         9.8,         11.12-78
Box Hill Hawks               3.4,         6.8,        11.9,       15.10-100

Northern Bullants
Goal Kickers: S. Wiggins 2, J. Cachia 2, L. Henderson 2, L. Casboult, R. Kerr, D. Ellard, T. Thomas, A. Arrowsmith
Best Players: D. Ellard, R. Gale, A. Iacobucci, A. Arrowsmith, J. McCorkell, J. Cachia

Box Hill Hawks
Goal Kickers: L. Breust 5, J. Hoegel 3, B. Fagan 2, L. Andrews, G. Moss, J. Lisle, T. Duryea, B. Neil
Best Players: E. Curnow, L. Breust, H. Kiel, B. Dowler, J. Hoegel, C. Stokes

Next Match - VFL Round 6
Casey v Northern Bullants
Saturday May 15
Casey Fields