By Tyler Lewis
Beware of the Hawks.
Rowville sits atop of the Eastern Football Netball League (EFNL) Premier Division ladder after defeating powerhouse Balwyn on Saturday, and is now the only unblemished side after four rounds of football.
In round 10 of last year Balwyn – led by livewire Charlie Haley – sank the Hawks by 79 points.
But it’s a new headline for Rowville in 2022, as it refuses to shy away from a challenge.
The revitalized Hawks held a three-point buffer at the final change and held off Balwyn to burst away with a 9.7 (61) to 6.13 (49) win.
And while many would’ve expected Balwyn to surge to a come-from-behind victory, Ben Wise trusts the final-term maturity from his side has come off the back of on-field leadership…and belief.
“Just a bit of belief and a bit of growth collectively as a group,” he said.
“And having really good leaders out on the field, Anthony Brolic Nick Shoenmakers, Matty Davey, Alex Frawley – those guys have just been instrumental.
“You know you can’t buy leadership and they’re rubbing off on the younger guys, as a group we’re sticking fat and doing what we need to which has been pleasing.”
The word ‘belief’ is a common piece of literature within football clubs and – quite often – it can lead to many things; sometimes it’s incredible wins in the home-and-away season, and in other cases its far bigger accomplishments.
Wise admits that word is starting to grow with each and every win.
“Yeah it’s getting bigger,” he said.
“I suppose for me I have known the comp and I know the sides we play against really well.
“I do my homework and in pre-season when we started looking at what I had and the growth coming, I knew we were going to be competitive.
“My message to them was start believing that we can beat those types of sides. I suppose over the first month it has shown, we have probably surprised a few people, but for me I always had that belief.
“The players are starting to see it a bit more.”
In the wake of last week’s win over Norwood, Wise downplayed whether he had a match-up in mind for Tiger Charlie Haley – who kicked a scintillating 10 goals against the Hawks last year.
But truthfully, Wise had one magnet very front of mind for Haley.
“I did keep it close to my chest, I put Jesse Eickhoff onto him and it was something we spoke about early in the week, he (Eickhoff) has been super impressive,” he said.
“I was trying to develop him to get more offence into his game, but there will be times I don’t want offence at all, I just want him to lock down on key personnel.
“He did it well on the weekend, he is a good match-up for Charlie; he (Haley) is an outstanding forward of the comp and I know how dangerous and how many looks he will get at the sticks.
“I was keen to get him to understand his role early in the week so he can mentally prepare for it… he went to him all day, I didn’t let him leave his side.
“Speaking to Charlie after the game, he just said he was a good kid and a good match-up for him and he said sometimes when he thought he had him sorted, he would come back and get a fist in and he was impressed.
“It’s always good to hear that from your peers.”
While Wise had the expectations of finals football on the horizon before the season begun, he did concede that some clubs may have underestimated his list after just two wins from nine appearances in 2021.
“Probably externally, but internally we always knew what we had,” he said.
“I suppose when people don’t know the names that we’ve got, they can judge their own opinion, but the only thing that will change opinions is wins and losses and how you attack every week.
“I think everyone is starting to have a second look now and we’re starting to get that respect externally, which is always pleasing.
“It’s only round four, there’s a long way to go, we haven’t played everyone and the middle of winter, half way through July – let’s see what we are doing then – you have to grind it out.”
Rowville face another test this weekend when it hosts South Croydon.
