William Buck Premier Men’s Round 4 Preview

A huge weekend of mouth-watering match-ups headlines Round 4 of William Buck Premier Men’s.

Here’s a closer look at the five matches this Saturday.

OLD BRIGHTON vs ST KEVIN’S (Saturday 2pm – Brighton Beach Oval)

Any time these two great modern rivals go head-to-head is an occasion of note.

Last season, the Tonners and SKOB claimed the Top 2 spots on the home-and-away ladder before the Cardinals upset them both in September. As a result, they are on a mission of unfinished business in 2025.

They met three times last season, and every clash was a nail-biting classic – St Kevin’s by 2 points at home in Round 8, Old Brighton at home by 1 point in Round 18, then the Tonners again the following week in the Second Semi at Elsternwick Park in a 6-point thriller that carried them into the Grand Final.

Three meetings for a total margin of just 9 points!

With two such evenly matched line-ups, home ground advantage plays a part.

The Tonners have won 11 straight at home since Round 17, 2023 – all 9 games last season, plus Uni Blacks & Old Haileybury in the opening 2 rounds of 2025.

Throw in an average winning margin of 34 points across that stretch, and you can see just how difficult it is to take down the Tonners on their home deck.

But SKOB have fared as well as anyone over that time, fighting back from 31 points down at quarter time of Round 18 last season to boot the last 6 goals of the game, only to fall agonisingly short and set the scene for a classic Second Semi Final the following week.

That game was ultimately decided by a late piece of Sam Flockart magic, which propelled the Tonners into the premiership decider with a quick snap out of the ruck that broke the deadlock at the 33-minute mark.

In 2025, both teams are once again setting the pace.

The undefeated Old Brighton sit atop the ladder, a game clear of four teams, including St Kevin’s, who fell to reigning champions Old Scotch by 14 points in the opening round.

There is little doubt that if the Tonners and SKOB stay healthy, they’ll be destined for more September action this season.

Enjoy an early entrée this weekend as the notoriously stingy St Kevin’s defence tries to nullify Old Brighton’s high-octane offence, which is humming along at 120 points per game!

Catch our award-winning VAFA SEN Match of the Day radio coverage from 1.45pm Saturday on VAFA.com.au & the SEN app.

COLLEGIANS vs ST BERNARD’S (Saturday 2pm – Harry Trott Oval)

This is a fascinating match-up after Round 3 saw Collegians break through to end Old Scotch’s winning run and kickstart their campaign, while the previously unbeaten Snowdogs were humbled by the Tonners.

Now we get to see whether the Lions’ performance was one out of the box and if the Snowdogs just had an off day as they square up against each other at Harry Trott.

Collegians coach Jordie McKenzie feels his team has been building well in recent weeks and they couldn’t have been more impressive against the Cardinals, blitzing them with intensity from the outset and maintaining the rage for the full four quarters.

Alex Lukic and Will Mayhood are developing into a dangerous twin-tower combination up forward. If they continue to get quality service from clearance machines Max Pinchbeck and Campbell Walker, they will be a handful for the Snowdogs defence.

But the Dogs have some strike power of their own, with gun spearhead Matthew Watson primed and ready for a breakout game to announce his arrival in the VAFA. He booted 3 goals in Round 2 against Blacks, before being held scoreless last week.

If Watson and Edyn Sibbald can develop into a two-headed monster up forward for the Snowdogs, their 2025 campaign could supercharge quickly, as they have a talented fleet of hard-working ball-winners ready to provide the necessary service.

After pulling off the Uni Double to open the season, what a scalp it would be for St Bernard’s to add Collegians at Harry Trott Oval to their list of away wins in 2025.

It promises to be a very revealing afternoon by the lake!

Watch the Reserves-Seniors double-header LIVE STREAMING on KommunityTV from 11.35am Saturday!

OLD SCOTCH vs OLD XAVERIANS (Saturday 2pm – Camberwell Sportsground)

Two teams widely expected to be in the mix when the whips are cracking around September collide at Camberwell in another potential early-season finals entrée.

Old Scotch’s Anzac Day loss to Collegians snapped their 5-game winning streak that stretched back to Round 18 last year, when they lost to – you guessed it – Old Xavs at Camberwell.

That thrilling 9-point win soon turned sour for Xavs when they realised the Lions had stormed home to beat Fitzroy, booting them out of the Final 4.

The pain of that missed opportunity only grew as Dan Donati and his team had to watch from the sidelines as the team they just defeated – Mark Gnatt’s Cards – charged into September and won the flag in scintillating fashion.

Now they meet again – Old Scotch coming off a loss and Old Xavs coming off as close to a loss as you can get without actually losing! Xavs didn’t hit the front against Old Haileybury until the 28-minute mark of the final quarter, after trailing by as much as 29 points early in the third term.

It was a thrilling fightback from Xavs, but Dan Donati and Mark Gnatt will have both spent plenty of time looking at the first half footage to fix/exploit Xavs’ early vulnerabilities.

There will be some superb match-ups to watch in all three zones as two powerful midfields collide in a bid to feed two dynamic attacks. They are the Top 2 teams in getting their hands on the ball in the ruck contest, and the Sam Grant vs Alec Spralja battle will be one to watch (I’m sure the Big V selectors will be).

They are also the Top 2 uncontested marking teams in the comp, so who can get the ball from inside to outside to string those possession chains together?

And then up forward, both teams are stacked with potential match-winners, both in the air and on the deck. Will it be the power forwards, the crafty smalls or a combination of both that prove to be the difference?

What a game it promises to be!

Enjoy this one LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday!

UNIVERSITY BLUES vs DE LA SALLE (Saturday 2pm – Melbourne University Oval)

De La Salle is the Premier Men’s only winless team in 2025, but they will head to Melbourne Uni confident that they are tracking ever closer to their breakthrough victory.

The Premier Men’s newcomer is learning important top-flight lessons by the week as their players adjust to the increased speed, intensity and relentlessness.

“We saw improvements in our game from Round 2,” said De La Salle coach Nick Hyland, after last week’s loss to St Kevin’s.

“I felt we were in the contest for a lot longer and had larger portions of certain quarters on our terms.

“Again, though, some lapses in our intensity and concentration really cost us.

“When we had momentum, I was pleased with the way we defended the ground. Our ball movement was also the best it’s been so far this year.”

The question is whether they can get the game in their control for longer and make it count on the scoreboard against a Blues outfit that has also been inconsistent.

New coach Matt Smith was blunt in his assessment of his side’s 35-point loss to arch-rival Blacks in the Uni Derby last week.

“It was really disappointing, given the occasion. Blacks just wanted it more than our boys,” said Smith, in a refreshingly honest appraisal of his new charges that will have raised an eyebrow amongst his players.

“All of the key stats from the game would suggest we should have been well on top. However, Blacks won more of the important moments, and it essentially came down to who wanted it more. Unfortunately, they were the side that was more desperate and played to the conditions better.”

Those are fighting words, and Smith will be hoping his side comes out breathing fire in this one after gritty, gutsy performances in the first two rounds.

It’s a game that both teams will be rightly confident of being able to win.

Is this the week De La breaks through for its first Premier Men’s win since 2019, or will the Blues get back on track and keep pace with the top 4?

OLD HAILEYBURY vs UNIVERSITY BLACKS (Saturday 2pm – Princes Park)

The final game of the round is another made more intriguing by last weekend’s results.

Old Haileybury sparkled in the first half against Xavs, putting a potential contender to the sword with their pressure and execution before being overrun in the second half.

While Blacks did likewise to Blues but managed to maintain the rage to post their first win of the season in impressive style, particularly given the significant losses they suffered in the opening two rounds.

It was a clear statement of intent from Blacks. They dug in and fought hard for each other, rising to the occasion of the Uni Derby and dominating it from the outset.

Can they now roll into Old Haileybury’s territory and back that up with another similarly dominant performance?

Blacks managed to hold Blues to just 3 goals last week. Can they repeat that dose against a dynamic Bloods attack averaging 97 points per game? They will need to keep a close watch on Harrison Jones, Durras Seccull and Andreas Stefanakis amongst others.

Dale Bower’s team will need to start that process at the source, given the Bloods are ranked #2 for Contested Possession and Ground Ball Gets while the Blacks are #9.

Blacks do their best work mopping up the spillages, ranked #1 for Loose Gets, so they will be trying to deny Bloods clean exits from inside the contest and picking them off on the way out.

Their ability to cut off supply to the Bloods’ dangerous finishers, while delivering enough football to the likes of Matthew Grocott and Thomas St Clair, may ultimately decide what looks to be – on paper – an even contest.

This one feels like a genuine crossroads game. The winner will keep pace with the chasing pack at 2-2, while the loser drops a game further back to 1-3.

Plenty to play for so early in the season!

Amateur Footballer Record – Week 4

WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 4  

SATURDAY MAY 3 (2pm):

Old Brighton                           vs             St Kevin’s                SEN MOTD – 1.45pm on VAFA.com.au & SEN app                 

Collegians                               vs             St Bernard’s            KOMMUNITY TV DOUBLE-HEADER from 11.35am

Old Scotch                             vs             Old Xaverians          VAFA.com.au LIVE STREAM – 1.50pm       

University Blues                   vs             De La Salle          

Old Haileybury                      vs             University Blacks

Watch matches on-demand on VAFATV