IT was a dream day of footy that came true for the Tasmanian Devils at North Hobart Oval yesterday.
For starters, they charged to a record sixth consecutive VFL win by belting the Hawthorn-aligned Box Hill Hawks by 56 points.
The magnitude of the victory - 18.16 (124) to 10.8 (68) - has pushed the Devils into sixth spot on the ladder and greatly enhanced their chances of playing off in a third consecutive finals series.
And who better to lead them to glory than their captain Ben Beams, who kicked eight goals in a scintillating best-afield performance to remind us why he once played in a grand final for AFL club Melbourne.
To ice the cake, 5526 roaring fans packed the ground, the biggest turnout in the VFL this season.
Even hard-to-please Devils coach Mathew Armstrong was able to crack a smile.
"The size of the win was very handy because it gives us more of a buffer in the top eight with three rounds to go,'' he said.
Armstrong's plan, to use his second-string players to run with Box Hill's onballers and wear them down and then unleash his front-liners, worked perfectly.
"Our boys were fantastic today, especially the way they lifted in the second half.
"We made it hard on ourselves early by chipping the ball around too much, but when we went long and direct after half-time it made a huge difference.''
Kept goalless by his shadow Steven Greene until midway through the second quarter, Beams cut loose to finish the first half with two goals.
He kicked three in the third quarter and matched that in the final term.
It was party time in the second half with Beams blowing out all the candles to the delight of the crowd as the Devils slammed on 12.1 to 3.2.
Beams's effort in smothering a kick off the boot of a Hawks defender and then running in to snap an acute angle goal in the third term had to be seen to be believed.
A bonus for the Devils were the fine contributions of 205cm ruckman Markham Johnson and utility Sam Lonergan, who kicked two goals.
Rival coach Andy Collins, a former three-time Hawthorn premiership player, could only marvel at the young riches Armstrong has at his disposal.
"Beams was the difference between the two sides, particularly in that third quarter when they blew us away,'' Collins said.
"We had to take Greene off him in the end to try and win some offensive ball.
"But I was even more impressed by the young players like Nathan Grima, who I think the AFL scouts will look at for the national draft, and the same goes for Sam Lonergan and Todd Grima, who I think could both go top 20.
"Mix them in with experienced guys like Beams, Justin Plapp, Ben Atkin and Matthew Jovanovic and you've got a pretty damned good side.''
Collins was pleased with Kristan Height's tagging job on Ian Callinan, Cam Howett's work rate in the centre and Harry Miller's smarts around goals. But he was disappointed to learn Ben McGlyn had a broken jaw.
By: DAVID STOCKDALE
Final Scores
Tasmania vs Box Hill Hawks (18.16-124 - 10.8-68)
Sat 30/Jul 2:00 PM at Nth Hobart
Tasmania 3.2 6.5 12.8 18.16-124
Box Hill Hawks 2.3 7.6 9.7 10.8-68
Tasmania
Goal Kickers: B. Beams 8, K. Hall 2, J. Plapp 2, T. Grima 2, S. Lonergan 2, I. Callinan, M. Johnson
Best Players: B. Beams, B. Geappen, B. Robinson, M. Johnson, M. Jovanovic, N. Grima
Box Hill Hawks
Goal Kickers: S. Rudolph 3, R. Kirkby 2, T. Harvey, B. Rinaldi, C. Howat, T. Murphy, H. Miller
Best Players: C. Howat, K. Height, M. Ball, A. Neville, A. Jansen, H. Miller
Last Modified on 01/08/2005 14:50