Jason Bennett

Round 5 of VAFA William Buck Premier Men’s features five mouth-watering match-ups with the potential to crack open the mid-ladder logjam.

FITZROY host OLD MELBURNIANS at Brunswick Street Oval in a critical game for the competition’s Bottom 2 teams.

The Roys have played some eye-catching footy in patches. Their next challenge is to string those together for long enough to break through for their first Premier Men’s win.

“We need to continue to be aggressive with our ball movement and make our opponents react and defend us,” said Fitzroy coach Travis Ronaldson.

They will fancy their chances at home against an OM’s team currently on a 3-game losing streak.

Coach Paul Satterley has unearthed some quality kids, and – like Fitzroy – the challenge is consistency across the full four quarters.

It all makes for a very interesting match-up – one which may feature some significant momentum shifts throughout the afternoon.

A precious 4 premiership points are up for grabs, along with the shot of confidence and belief that will accompany them.

Catch every moment of our VAFA SEN MATCH OF THE DAY LIVE on the SEN app, SEN.com.au & VAFA.com.au from 1.45pm Saturday.

Expect a very spirited contest when OLD XAVERIANS host OLD BRIGHTON at Toorak Park.

These two teams don’t like each other at the best of times. Throw in the return of Tonners’ coach Dan Donati back to Old Xavs over the summer and the rivalry ratchets up a few extra notches!

Old Brighton have flown the gates once again to sit undefeated and a game clear at the top of the ladder. In fact, they are 14-2 across the opening month of their last four seasons!

Their success is starting at the source – #1 for Ground Ball Gets, Contested Disposals, Handball Efficiency & Clearances.

But Old Xavs are #2 Clearances, led by the #1 Clearance player in the competition through the opening month – Alec Spralja.

So whoever can most effectively get the footy from inside to outside will go a long way towards victory. It’s going to be very hot in the kitchen – don’t miss this one!

Catch OLD XAVS vs OLD BRIGHTON live streaming on VAFA TV at VAFA.com.au from 1.45pm Saturday.

COLLEGIANS & UNIVERSITY BLACKS are both eyeing off 3 straight wins as they clash at Harry Trott Oval.

The reigning champs took a couple of weeks to find their groove, but a gritty against-the-odds win over Old Scotch was followed by an impressive victory over Old Xavs last week that will have provided the Lions with some confidence.

“It was a spirited win,” said Collegians coach, Jordie McKenzie.

“With a slow start and one of our prime movers injured, the boys dug deep from quarter time and produced our brand of footy. Our pressure was a highlight, and we played large chunks of the game in our forward half.”

Their mettle will be tested by one of the grittiest teams in the competition. Blacks have been in every game so far this season, with final margins of 9, 9, 5 and 18 points across their opening month.

They crack in hard at the contest – ranked #1 for Tackles and #2 for Contested Disposals & Ground Ball Gets – so the Lions will need to match that intensity if they are to collect a third straight victory.

The winner will elevate themselves into the Top 4 mix. It looms as a revealing afternoon.

ST BERNARDS host OLD SCOTCH in a Top 4 clash at the Snake Pit, with the winner solidifying their Top 4 status, while the loser could tumble as far as the Bottom 4.

The Snowdogs were convincingly outplayed by Blacks last weekend before booting the last 5 goals of the game to add some respectability to the scoreboard.

“They were much cleaner than us around the stoppages and spread and moved the ball well all day,” said St Bernard’s coach, Steve Alessio.

“Our boys battled hard even though things weren’t going their way. Our last quarter effort was pleasing and gives us something to work with going into this week’s game back at the SnakePit in front of our home crowd.”

The Cardinals will have surely spent extra time on goalkicking practice at training this week, given they’ve let back-to-back wins slip through their fingers due to inaccuracy around goal. A fortnight ago, they kicked 6.12 to fall 3 points short of Collegians, then last week it was a frustrating 7.19 to fall 7 points shy of Uni Blues.

“We had plenty of good scoring opportunities, however, we were unable to convert,” lamented coach Mark Gnatt.

“We had the ascendancy through the midfield and were able to connect better with our forwards this week, which was pleasing.”

Old Scotch are #1 for Disposals, Disposal Efficiency & Marks, so they shift the ball effectively with kick-mark chains that the Snowdogs will be intent on disrupting.

St Bernards are clearly #1 for Centre Clearances and Inside 50s, so they are providing plenty of opportunities for dangerous duo Marcus Holland and Edyn Sibbald.

But they are also #1 for Turnovers. They’ll need to protect the footy better against the Cardinals, who are so effective with ball in hand.

Where do these two teams sit in the pecking order? We’re about to learn a little more.

The final clash of Round 5 sees UNIVERSITY BLUES host ST KEVINS at Melbourne Uni Oval.

All eyes will be on the Blues’ two-headed monster up forward, with Sam Grimley and James Stewart leading the goalkicking table with 17 and 13 goals respectively.

But SKOB have a weapon of their own, with Patrick Kerr sitting 3^rd on the table with 12 goals.

St Kevin’s have conceded the fewest turnovers this season, whereas the Blues are ranked #2 in that category. Can SKOB pressure Blues into error, then be clean with the footy themselves?

They enter on the back of their best performance of the season to date – a big win over OM’s that provided the ideal response to their uncharacteristically disappointing Round 3 effort.

“We spoke about the opportunity to respond to a poor performance – well, we couldn’t have been more pleased with our four-quarter effort,” said delighted coach, Anthony Lynch. “It was our most even team performance for the year.

“The challenges don’t get any easier with Blues at Uni Oval, so we will need that even team contribution again.”

SKOB’s Top 2 spot is up for grabs and a loss here will likely see them tumble out of the Top 4, whereas the Blues will be keen to build upon last week’s winning momentum.

“Last Saturday was another example of how even and strong the competition is,” said Blues coach, Guy Martyn.

“Both sides had periods of momentum and the result could’ve gone either way.”

It feels like he could be saying the same thing again come Saturday night.

Join the VAFA William Buck SEN MATCH OF THE DAY call team for their live coverage of FITZROY vs OLD MELBURNIANS from 1.45pm Saturday on SEN.com.au & the SEN app.

Catch OLD XAVS vs OLD BRIGHTON live streaming on VAFA TV at VAFA.com.au from 1.45pm Saturday.

Keep up-to-date with live scores and the latest news at VAFA.com.au