Premier B Men’s Season Preview

After a long summer, Round 1 2025 has finally arrived. Here’s a quick look at every Premier B team ahead of what looks like another desperately close season of football in one of the VAFA’s most competitive divisions.

FITZROY

Fitzroy’s graduate year in William Buck Premier football garnered first-year coach Travis Ronaldson and his team five wins, but the club was left needing a victory from its final game of the 2024 season, combined with an Old Melburnians defeat of St Bernard’s, to stay in VAFA top flight.

The Old Melburnians held up their end of the bargain, beating the Snowdogs by a single point, but despite leading for most of the game Fitzroy were unable to hold off Collegians and were sent down into Premier B.

Now, Ronaldson has a year of senior coaching under his belt and is better for the journey.

“When you roll in and it’s your first year, it takes time to build those relationships and it takes time to understand what players you have, and what makes them tick,” he said.

“12 months down the track, you’re much better versed and prepared and informed in those areas. And I think that allows you to have … a really strong second pre-season where you go in knowing what to expect.”

“I think overall, that leads to a more effective preparation.”

Ronaldson’s Roys are quick, fit and cover the ground well – the coach flagging his chargers will play a brand of football befitting their fastest.

Look for the pacy Laird Ramshaw, who doesn’t turn 20 until October, to push into the midfield this season after burning a line down the wing last year at Brunswick Street Oval, while Miles Nelson and Anthony Johnston are two names highlighted by Ronaldson as ones to watch.

OLD TRINITY

De La Salle’s preliminary final heroics denied Old Trinity a Grand Final berth in 2024 and thus elevation to top flight football, the Ts falling literal inches short of making a return to William Buck Premier.

From Round 7 to their preliminary final exit, the Ts suffered just three losses – two to De La, one to Old Haileybury – plus a draw with Old Camberwell. It’s natural then, with Nick Hyland and Daniel Ward taking their teams to VAFA’s top flight, to put Donald McDonald’s right in the mix for a top-two finish in 2025.

McDonald’s certainly is not shirking away from the dramatic conclusion to the 2025 season – embracing the near miss as a lesson.

“The whole thing about getting to a finals match is that you learn so much about yourself,” he said.

“Two goals up, twenty-minute mark, kicking with the wind to get into a Grand Final. Those opportunities just don’t grow on trees. It was really disappointing, because we were passionate about going up, but the reality was we weren’t good enough.

“That’s going to be a real big focus this year – to have a capacity to go longer, because when you come up against the really good teams at that time of the year, you’ve got to be able to go the journey.”

Expect some new faces in the green and gold when they run out to face Old Camberwell at Barnard Reserve this Saturday.

“(We’re) probably going to have a six-or-seven player difference,” McDonald said.

“We’re going to be relying on guys stepping up. That’s going to be a challenge. Our younger blokes, can they step up?

“We’ve got to get back to that level with some growth from within, rather than anything that we’ve brought in – that’s been the whole purpose of the pre-season and the practice matches, to try and see if we can unearth some players that have got a capacity to play senior footy for us.”

OLD GEELONG

After two years of sharing the role with Nathan Brown, Nick Dixon has the reins at Old Geelong, looking to take a team that was a kick away from a preliminary final a couple of steps further.

“I really enjoyed my time with ‘Browny’,” said Dixon, who has stepped away from his playing role and becomes a full-time coach in 2025.

“He’s really focused on (the defensive) part of the game – I was able to come in and add an offensive element.”

Dixon has inherited a well-weighted group as far as age and experience goes, the OGs fresh from their first men’s finals campaign in Premier B football.

“I think we’ve got seven or so boys playing their 100th game this year that are all in their mid-to-late twenties … but we’ve also been able to replenish the younger side of the list as well,” he said, forecasting up to half-a-dozen players aged 20 or younger in the mix for Round 1 selection at Como Park.

Jackson Nelson won’t be joining the OGs as previously reported, the former West Coast Eagle returning to Sydney for family reasons, but there are a pair of 20-year-olds to take note of: former Vic Country representative Hamish Pierson has looked sharp at centre-half-back over the pre-season and practice matches, having overcome some troublesome years with injury, while Reef Page, arriving from the Torquay Tigers’ premiership-winning team, excited Dixon while undertaking a pre-season at Port Melbourne and should impact immediately across centre-half-forward.

With last year’s competition so close and the margins expected to be just as tight this season, Dixon’s group won’t be caught resting on its laurels.

“You look at Beaumaris, two prelims in a row, and then go down, so we can’t just think (finals) is going to happen again,” Dixon said.

“From Round 1, you’ve got to be really on, because making finals will probably come down to one or two games.”

OLD IVANHOE

There’s one club that’s drawn serious attention in Premier B this pre-season: Old Ivanhoe, coached by Jarrod Gieschen.

After an impressive practice match performance against De La Salle, pundits around the VAFA have been closely examining Gieschen’s squad – complete with a number of additions headlined by returning ex-AFL pair Alex Mirkov and Patrick Naish.

“We had a real focus on trying to attract Ivanhoe people back to Old Ivanhoe,” said Gieschen, who has held the whip at Chelsworth Park since 2018.

“With Alex (Mirkov) unfortunately being delisted from Carlton, he obviously got drafted from our club back in 2021 in the mid-season draft. I think Alex just wanted to enjoy his footy, and find that love for the game again.”

And it’s not simply ex-Tiger and Eagle Patrick Naish who’s making a return to Old Ivanhoe in 2025 – he’s bringing along his two brothers, new assistant coach Xavier and Charlie, a taller midfielder who turns 20 next month.

“Everyone talks about Paddy, he obviously played a big part in the 2023 premiership win,” Gieschen said.

“Xavier is helping me as (an) assistant coach, and he’s been a breath of fresh air in our coaching group. Charlie, the youngest of the three boys, captained our school team (Ivanhoe Grammar) to their first premiership in 60 years.”

Old Ivanhoe were in the finals mix for much of the 2024 season, an impressive graduate year fading away late with a 3-5 finish and a place in fifth. Gieschen sums it up neatly: 

“If you have a look at the stats, we hit a brick wall towards the end of the year.”

In two late-season drubbings at the hands of Old Haileybury and De La Salle, Gieschen found key areas for improvement in his group: a need for improved physicality around the football and swifter ball movement.

“They’re the things that we’ve put a heap of focus on, so hopefully we can see that implemented when the season starts,” he said.

Keep an eye on exciting younger players Archie Franklin, an Anytime Fitness Rising Star nominee last year, and Trent McManus, a talented cricketer who stepped away from the pitch to focus on his football pre-season.

CAULFIELD GRAMMARIANS

At Caulfield Grammarians, new coach Paul Satterley has found himself with momentum, garnered from the club’s escape from relegation in the last round of 2024, and continued with high numbers on the training track.

Under Guy McKenna in 2024, the Grammarians struggled, spending Rounds 15, 16 and 17 marooned in ninth place and seemingly destined for a drop to Premier C.

But a nine-goal win over Old Camberwell in Round 18, coupled with a Beaumaris’ seven-goal loss to Old Trinity, saw the Sharks and Fields switch places and saved the former from two relegations in as many seasons.

Satterley, who crossed from Old Melburnians to take charge of the Grammarians, has taken the approach of empowering his players to play exciting football. The recruitments of Tomas Bugg and former skipper Will Edwards give the coach the equivalent of two playing assistant coaches for a youthful list.

“I’ve inherited quite a young list in terms of age profile,” Satterley said.

“Many have already been exposed to senior football through circumstances over the past few years. The strength within the club stems from having a competitive Under 19 side in Premier, and a second Under 19 side that won the Division 4 flag in 2024.”

Skipper Joey McClelland continues at his post, and has helped Satterley settle at his new club – his fourth coaching appointment in the VAFA.

WILLIAMSTOWN CYMS

At WIlliamstown CYMS, coach Con Terzoglou is sick of fighting relegation.

After three wins in 2022, seven in 2023 and five and a draw in 2024, Terzoglou and the CYs would look to their late-winter burst as instructive for the 2025 season – investing in their list over the summertime to avoid a scramble in July.

The CYs’ form in their three practice matches has been encouraging, Terzoglou two weekends ago at Darley remarking on his team’s adaptation to a quicker, pacier style of play.

“We know that the Ammos game does play off that half back line, so it’s an area we want to improve in and we’ve put time into that at training. To see snippets of that today and last week is pleasing to know that we’re trending right. Still work to do, but we’re really happy with how it’s come so far,” the coach said.

Zac Provest’s pre-season has turned heads, with an eight-goal practice match performance cause for optimism about the young forward’s prospects. Back-to-back best-and-fairest winner Jordan Busuttil earned a call-up to Essendon’s VFL team, putting in a terrific amount of work to make the cut. Busuttil has featured in both of the Bombers’ VFL games to date, leaving a place in the CYs midfield for the likes of Will Chan to feature.

HAMPTON ROVERS

The Hampton Rovers will play the CYs in the first weekend of the season, another community club that has focused on investing into its program, particularly its high-achieving Under 19s program.

“We invested heavily in our youth last season – our 19s won the Division 1 premiership the same day six players who qualified for our Under 19s Grand Final played in our preliminary final win against Parkside,” said coach Marty Pask.

“We feel we have been promoted on the back of our strong pathway of (Under) 19s and consistent performances from our players aged 22-25, who are now leading the club.”

Skipper Christian Carnovale has been superb for the Rovers over his glittering Amatuers career, which has included Big V appearances and four Bob Cave Medals as the fairest and best player at Hampton. Expect the dynamic midfielder to thrive in Premier B football.

OLD CAREY

Coming into Premier B fresh from a 15-goal Grand Final win over Hampton, new Old Carey coach Luke Giles graduates from his role as an assistant last year with a clear view of the list. 

“I’m under the impression that our top ten players are going to continue to get better and better for the next three or four years,” Giles said.

“Our scope for improvement is absolutely huge. We feel that we’re in year two of a five-year plan to get back to the very top of the VAFA.”

Taking the reins from premiership coach Aaron Bailey, who has transitioned to a role as a senior assistant and general manager of football, Giles expects the same gameplan, played to great effect by the Panthers in 2024, to feature in the club’s return to Premier B after relegation back in 2022.

“We want the ball on the outside – we’ve got great leg speed, great running power,” Giles said, though the coach was excited by his team’s ability to succeed in a “scrappy” practice match against Macleod.

Giles is aware of the step up his team will have to take, and is determined to take his players to a new level.

“(Last year’s form) won’t be enough. That won’t win us three, four, five games in Premier B…we’ve got to go up 20% in my mind, to be competitive, and we’ve probably got to go up 50% to be at the very top end of B grade”.

“That’s definitely been the message – good job on what you’ve done, but we’ve got to get fitter, we’ve got to get stronger, we’ve got to get better.”

The ‘Carey Academy’ is a way to aid that jump up to Premier B standard – a pre-main training, skills-focused optional session run by stalwart Jeremy Dickson for those players searching for some extra work. This pre-season, it’s been a well attended session, with 20-30 players fronting up.

OLD MELBURNIANS

The Panthers will get an understanding of where their off-season has placed them straight away, running into the Old Melburnians and Nathan Brown first up at Elsternwick Park.

Brown, replacing Paul Satterley, returns to the OMs after an eight-year stint at the club from 2012-2019, crossing from the OGs after leading the club to a finals appearance last year.

While ball magnet Ben Harding has departed, the Haysman and Nichols brothers remain at the OMs, as do some important forwards: mercurial goalsneak Sam Laube, hard-working flanker Ed Michelmore and front-half enforcer Jackson Paine.

It’s the younger players – some blooded last year in the seniors, some on the up-and-up from the Under 19s program – that Brown will have his eye on this year.

“With this next wave group, it’s a continued work in progress, but our focus has been on a combined style, a method and structure where everyone knows what’s expected, but especially a lot of confidence to go and take moments as you see them,” he said.

Look for two exciting 19-year-olds who impressed in William Buck Premier last year to continue their development at the Redlegs this year: wingman Ollie Tyrer and swingman Jeremy A’Beckett.

OLD CAMBERWELL

Old Camberwell is another club under new leadership in 2025 – Neil Connell is the new coach at Gordon Barnard Reserve, taking over from Anson Brownless after nine wins, eight losses and a draw in 2024. 

Connell, also the head of football at Camberwell Grammar School, will inherit a group younger than it was in 2024 due to a few retirements, including that of Jay Kennedy-Harris.

Graduating Under 19s players and returning Camberwell Grammar students make up the inclusions for the new coach, who has clear goals for the season to come.

“Consolidate as a B Grade club (and) be competitive in every game regardless of the end result,” Connell said.

“Develop more senior players capable of playing B grade football, keep good player numbers in all of our five teams.”