Hawks not getting ahead of themselves despite 3-0 start

THRILLED with Eaglehawk’s 3-0 start to the season, co-coach Travis Matheson is determined to keep a lid on things, as the Hawks prepare for battle against Gisborne in round four of BFNL football.

The Hawks extended their unbeaten run with a 37-point victory over South Bendigo in the rain at the QEO on Anzac Day in what Matheson described as an ‘old fashioned slog.’

“It was great to get it over and done with and to bank the four points,” he said.

“From the sideline, it was a really hard one (game) to get a feel of, given the conditions. It felt like we were never quite home at any stage.

“They put up a really good fight early in that last quarter – we thought it could go either way – but the boys got a goal and steadied and were able to knock it off from there.”

While winning form is always good form, Matheson cautioned that the Hawks had been in similar positions before during his time at Canterbury Park, only for things to quickly turn.

“I spoke to the boys after the game about the importance of not looking too far ahead,” he said.

“It’s only early days.

“We have probably been in this position a few times at the start of seasons and haven’t pushed on with it, so from our perspective, we are still very much looking at what we need to improve on, as opposed to what’s going on now.”

Matheson gave full credit to the Bloods for a fierce contest and predicted they would trouble plenty of teams throughout the season.

“Obviously, they have got a lot of strength and moved the footy pretty well when they got the opportunities to do so,” he said.

“They are pretty potent up forward with Brock (Harvey) and Kaiden (Antonowicz)and they have some solid defenders.

“They are going to be pretty hard to beat at most times throughout the year.”

As they have done in all three wins so far, it was their midfield that set the tone for the Hawks, with Billy Evans, Max Kennedy and Ben Thompson feeding off a dominant ruck display from Brayden Frost.

Up forward, Jack O’Shannessy’s three goals proved telling in the rain.

Matheson is expecting a tough challenge from Gisborne, which moved to 2-1 with a five-point win over winless Strathfieldsaye, courtesy of a last-minute goal by Jed Denahy.

“It’s never easy against Gizzy – it’s another big game before we have that week off,” Matheson said.

“Hopefully it’s one we are able to get up for.

“The extra day off this week will help a few of the boys, as there were a few sore bodies after Friday.”

The Hawks expect to regain Charlie Langford and Joel Budarick after both missed the clash against the Bloods.

In other round four games, South Bendigo will look to rebound from its first loss of the season against Castlemaine (2-1) at Camp Reserve; undefeated Sandhurst (3-0) hosts Kangaroo Flat (0-3) at the QEO; and Strathfieldsaye (0-3) and Golden Square (0-3) will be chasing win number one against each other at Tannery Lane.