Old Trinity retained their title as number one contenders by solidifying their spot at the top of the William Buck Premier ladder with a 33-point win against De La Salle at Daley Oval. Despite less than two kicks separating them for the majority of the first half, the T’s seemed to hold the ascendancy as Alex Polidoros starred with five goals in the first two quarters setting up the win. Leading by just 17 at three quarter time, there was a feeling the De La train could roll at any stage and take it up to the T’s, but standout performances from Jack Osborn around the ground, Ned Hunt in defence and Henry Winter in the ruck helped the T’s nail four goals to two and run away with their fourth consecutive victory. Jake Williams used his speed and ability to find the sherrin all day and keep De La in it until the last 10 minutes, while Tom Humphrey was instrumental in keeping Polidoros quieter in the second half. Ed Weatherson is in Big V-type form for the T’s and Doug Morris registered four.
Old Melburnians held off a fast-finishing St Bernard’s to record their third win for the season and move to third on the ladder, defeating the Snow Dogs by seven points at Sportscover Arena. Trailing by 29 points at three quarter time, the Snow Dogs came hard and kicked 3.6 to OM’s two behinds in the last but couldn’t quite get over the line. Matt Thomas and Josh Freezer were in scintillating form for OMs and Alexander Armstrong kicked three majors. Nathan Kazuro continued his solid form for the Snow Dogs as their best, while Jordan Schroder kicked three.
Collegians’ defensive unit held University Blues to 1.6, including just four behinds in the second half, on their way to a 36-point victory at Harry Trott Oval. In bizarre scenes for the previously undefeated Blues, the injury-ravaged outfit struggled to hit the scoreboard, with Tom Batarilo’s first-quarter major their only one for the day. Marc James fought valiantly but standout displays from Courtney Hylton, Will Tardif, Julian Eimutis and Trent Zimbachs led the Lions to their second win for the season and sixth position on the ladder, while the Blues fall to fourth as OMs and Old Xaverians climb above them.
2015 Premier B champions, St Kevin’s, recorded their first victory for the season as they came from behind to defeat University Blacks by nine points at University Oval. Billy Kanakis played arguably the greatest game of his SKOB career as he kicked six goals in a best-on-ground performance. Stephen Gilham returned after missing the previous two weeks and snagged two goals, while Jordan Gysberts kicked two of his own in his first match of the season. Tyrone Bean was sensational for the Blacks and Lochie Dornauf kicked four in his strongest performance in his short Blacks career. Both sides sit on one win and three losses four rounds in, with the Blacks one position higher on the ladder in seventh.
Old Xaverians climbed to second position on the ladder following their 64-point win against Old Carey at Toorak Park today. A combined seven goals from Brendan Goss (four) and Matt Handley (three) helped the Xavs continually extend the lead as they outscored the Panthers in every quarter. Steven Freemantle was as calculated as ever for the Panthers in his 100th match for the Club, while Tomi and Clay Johnston ran riot for the victors. The Panthers remain bottom of the ladder, having been unable to secure a win yet this season.