Collingwood’s VFL side were unable to go one better than their AFL counterparts on Friday night, going down to Box Hill Hawks at the Kennedy Community Centre by nine points.

With 10 wins each in their VFL history, the two sides went head-to-head in the first-ever night clash at the Kennedy Community Centre.

The home side were dominant early, with three quick goals and a slew of behinds seeing Collingwood stare at a 19-1 scoreline 10 minutes into the quarter.

It was Collingwood’s Brynn Teakle who finally got Collingwood their first major, kicking a long bomb from 54 metres out to get his side up and about.

2025 draftee Zac McCarthy added another goal to the Pies’ tally, leaving Collingwood trailing by just seven at the first break.

The second term was a back-and-forth affair, kickstarted by VFL recruit Oskar Faulkhead.

Goals to Iliro Smit, Club debutant Will Phillips, Bobby Hill, Charlie West, and Jai Saxena on the half time siren saw the Pies in front for the first time of the night, heading into the main break with a three-point lead.

The start of the third was all Collingwood, with midfielder Ed Allan quickly putting the game on his back and kicking two consecutive majors in a minute along with a second goal to West extended the Pies’ lead.

Box Hill refused to give up however, quickly bringing themselves back within a point midway through the term before Hill found the goals again for his second and giving the Pies a nine-point buffer at the final break.

With the ball travelling end to end early in the fourth without finding either goals, it was Box Hill who finally broke the stalemate, hurting the Pies with three consecutive goals in less than four minutes.

Collingwood had their opportunities, with Liam Hude and Phillips both missing their set shots. Hill quickly redeemed himself, finding his third major of the night, but it wasn’t enough for the Pies to trump the Hawks, going down by nine points at the final siren.

MATCH CENTRE: BOX HILL v COLLINGWOOD

The numbers:

Ball magnet Ed Allan had another big night in the middle, finishing with 28 disposals along with his two third quarter goals.

Bobby Hill – whose minutes continued to grow from last week’s return – finished with three goals and three intercepts, while key tall Charlie West also had two to bring his season tally to 12 in five games.

Defender Jakob Ryan found plenty of the ball, finishing with 26 disposals and 10 marks, while Noah Howes (10 marks) also had an impact down back.

Collingwood will now turn their attention to next weekend’s clash with Geelong next Saturday at Victoria Park.

BOX HILL                3.4      7.7       11.10       16.13     (109)
COLLINGWOOD       2.3      8.4       13.7         15.10    (100)

GOALS:
Box Hill: Matt Hill (3), Kye Declase (3), Max Ramsden (2), Brodie McLaughlin (2), Aiden Schubert, Cameron Nairn, Will McCabe, Oliver Greeves, Jack Dalton, Cody Anderson
Collingwood: Bobby Hill (3), Charlie West (2), Ed Allan (2), Brynn Teakle, Iliro Smit, Jai Saxena, Tyan Prindable, Will Phillips, Zac McCarthy, Liam Hude, Oskar Faulkhead