VFL: Box Hill Hawks Vincent Adduci on the rise

In his fifth year in the VFL, the small forward has developed into a top-line player and perhaps even an AFL prospect.

Vincent Adduci getting busy for the Box Hill Hawks. Pic: Kadek Thatcher.

On the ground and off it, Vincent Adduci is a livewire.

The fast-rising Box Hill Hawk keeps opponents occupied with his speed and sidestep, and his teammates busy with his perky personality.

Hawks captain Damian Mascitti calls him a “ball of energy, he’s really good with our vibe around the club, he’s our barometer’’.

And, he added, he’s “always laughing and carrying on.’’

But he’s a serious player.

At 23, and in his fifth year at the club, Adduci has got himself fit with a little help from former Hawks captain David Mirra and is playing the best football of his career.

A few at the City Oval are starting to think he might be an AFL draft candidate.

In Round 3 Adduci had 20 touches, kicked three goals and won the medal as best-afield in the annual Blue Ribbon Cup match against Sandringham as the Hawks came from 37 points down at half time to win by five goals.

Serious player: Vincent Adduci. Pic: Kadek Thatcher.

Mascitti took in the performance from the other end of the ground and was chuffed for the player he calls “my little mate’’ and “definitely a favourite around the club’’.

He’s thankful he doesn’t have to play on Adduci.

“He’s just so dynamic. He’d be a bloody nightmare to play on,’’ Mascitti said. “He’s quick, he’s agile, he’s got that sidestep and he’s got good finishing.’’

And he’s got fitness too.

As a half forward given the occasional burst on the ball, it was an aspect of his game that needed to improve, and Adduci has done so with the encouragement of Mirra.

“Me and ‘Mizz’ (Mirra) have had like an awesome relationship,’’ he was saying ahead of training at the Box Hill City Oval last Thursday.

“He’s sort of been my mentor. I actually feel real lucky at Box Hill because everyone looks out for me. I’ve had Chris Newman, I had a really good relationship with Max Bailey – he was awesome for my mental side of things – and then David took me under his wing and got me to train a lot harder.

“Last year, when the season never went ahead, I was the fittest I’ve ever been. Like, I was really fit. He set up some really good habits in me.

“The pre-season, a massive thing he taught me was it wasn’t about beating records, it was about ticking boxes and putting that money in the bank. Yeah, money in the bank. It became instinctive to want to keep training at that level. Consistently doing the extras, and slowly getting fitter and fitter.’’

Gotcha: Vincent Adduci of Box Hill tackles Sandy’s Leo Connolly.

The Hawks have had a high regard for Adduci’s ability since he joined them in 2017, out of St Kevin’s College and the Oakleigh Chargers.

Impressively for a newcomer competing with AFL players for a position, he had 12 senior games in his first year at the club.

He began to “feel comfortable’’ that he had the talent for the VFL. But he acknowledges his ability and application haven’t always lined up.

“That was always a massive thing with me growing up. I’ve always been talented. But the workrate side of things hasn’t been up to scratch,’’ he said.

“And like, I always had this pressure of ‘I’ll get drafted’ and this and that. I always wanted to play the highest level. But I sort of went away from that a little bit. One year I went away with the family to America in the pre-season. I shouldn’t have done that probably. That’s when Max Bailey was coaching. My priorities were a bit confused.’’

Vincent Adduci celebrates a goal for the Hawks.

Just as he enjoyed his time under Newman and Bailey, Adduci is relishing the coaching of Sam Mitchell.

He’s a Melbourne supporter – “Go the Dees!’’ – but he was always a fan of Mitchell as a player, particularly his left-and-right kicking.

Last year Adduci appeared in Hawthorn intraclub games and he heard Mitchell had pushed for him to play through the midfield.

It gave him confidence, and he was happy when Mitchell was appointed to take over from Bailey for 2021.

Sam Mitchell.

“Sammy’s been awesome for me, unreal,’’ he said.

“He’s sort of given me a licence to play as an extra mid if I’m not feeling it. Like, he wants me to get to the contest and run around and be myself and express myself.

“Obviously we’ve got structures but I feel he’s really stripped it down for me, to play instinctive footy and have fun with it. In the past I’ve worried about the structures and what if I stuff up and what are the coaches thinking and it would play on my mind and I’d almost play inside myself. Right now I’m having the most fun I’ve had with footy. With Sammy, it’s pretty cool when you have a legend of the game having faith in you.’’

He’s held on to a Mitchell observation that a match goes for so long – almost two hours – that players have the time to work themselves into it.

In the past Adduci would become anxious if he hadn’t touched the ball for a while.

“Now I sort of think, ‘It may not be your 20 minutes but you can still do something’,’’ he said.

Vincent Adduci marking for Oakleigh Chargers.

Hawks assistant coach Clinton Proctor has also helped him identify what he calls his “one wood’’: his running and his pressure.

Adduci sees his speed and agility as his strengths; he wants crumbing and goalkicking to be another.

He played in the midfield as a junior and was accustomed to setting up goals rather than kicking them himself. His three against Sandy show he’s getting there.

Adduci is kicking a few goals away from football too. Two years ago he and three mates started a clothing brand called Push Pull Shop.

They sell streetwear, not the sort of clothes you’re likely to see at a JJ Liston Trophy dinner.

“It’s all derived from American hip-hip fashion culture,’’ he said.

“It’s going well and I really love it. I feel like it balances me.’’

Livewire Adduci, then, has the passion on the ground and the fashion off it.