Uni Blues and Old Brighton rise to the top, as finals football beckons in U19 Premier

The Holmesglen Under 19 Premier Men’s competition has entered its final month of the home and away season.  With just 3 games remaining, teams are still jostling for an exclusive seat on the finals-football bus.

Round 15 having commenced and completed over the weekend, showcased that the crème of the Under 19’s crop is beginning to rise to the top.

The round kicked off in style on Friday night, St Bedes/Mentone Tigers glistening under the lights of Mentone reserve. Requiring a victory over Beaumaris to remain in touch with the top five, the Tigers played with vigour to gallop away as 72-point winners.

The game was essentially put out of touch for Beaumaris when SBMT piled on four opening quarter goals, whilst keeping their opposition scoreless. Such dominance would persist throughout the duration of the contest, the final score reflecting the sheer dominance of the Tigers.

Forward livewire Jack Meredith kicked five for the victors, whilst teammate Angus Shepherdson was judged best afield.

Beaumaris will look to reignite their season when they take on Old Xaverians this week.

Moving into Saturday, De La Salle continued their late season charge to down Williamstown CYMS by 32 points.

Trailing at the opening break and winning by just 3 points at the start of the last quarter, De La Salle put their foot to the pedal in the final 20 minutes.

Captain Joshua Stewart stood tall, slotting 3 majors, posing a problem all day to the Williamstown defensive unit. His teammates Max Miller and Mack Higginbotham chipped in nicely, steering the De La Salle boys to victory once again in season 2024.

Reminiscent of a grizzled and beaten fighter in an 80s boxing flick, De La has lifted from the canvas stunningly in the latter half of 2024. They have now gone six weeks without a loss, after shockingly dropping the first nine games of the season.

For their opposition, Williamstown, it was a gallant all-round effort, one that ultimately fell short. Charlie Norris, Jake Connors and Xavier Snelling persisted in the loss.

Later in the Saturday schedule, University Blues once again proved the legitimacy of their talented youngsters, trumping Old Scotch by 57-points.

A stirring win, one that would shoot them into second position on the ladder, would come off the back of a stunning team performance.

Carl Ziebarth, Oliver Sleiman and Henry Woolcock were standouts, whilst star forward Luca Di Lallo enjoyed a day out, kicking six majors.

Whilst Old Scotch remain in third position after the loss, it was an alarming result. So close to finals, the side will look to regain their previous form.

The penultimate game of the round saw Old Brighton return to form, beating Old Xaverians by 21-points.

A game that simply needed to be won for Old Brighton, resulted in just that for the side. A close contest for most of the day, the Brighton boys reared away late to register a victory that would cement their position in top spot on the ladder.

Lachlan McCluskey kicked a dazzling four majors for his side in the win, whilst Mason Szyoni proved why he remains as one of the more in-form players in the competition.

For Old Xaverians, the result meant that they surrendered fifth position on the ladder to St Bedes/Mentone, officially falling out of the finals bracket.

As speculated, the race for finals in Under 19’s Premier is proving to be extremely close. Old Xavs will look to regain some form in their final three games in a bid to feature in finals football in 2024.

The final matchup of the round saw St Kevin’s defeat Caulfield Grammarians by a convincing 114-points.

A goal-fest at TH King oval saw a plethora of players cash in down forward. Hudson Lefoe headlined the list of players with multiple goals, ending his day with five. Jack Luscombe, Nicholas Dynan and Liam Edwards were named best afield in the landslide win.

St Kevin’s remain in fourth position with three rounds remaining, whilst Caulfield have been eliminated from the finals race with the result.

Looking onwards to Round 16, a handful of season-defining games sit on the horizon.

De La Salle will look to spoil St Kevin’s weekend, Whilst Old Xaverians have an opportunity to jump into the top five when they play Beaumaris.

Uni Blues will play St Bedes/Mentone Tigers in a top of the table bout, whilst Old Brighton will look to consolidate their form when they play Williamstown CYMS. Old Scotch will play Caulfield Grammarians to close out the round.