Kew drop their first in a dominant Preston display

The biggest storyline in the Division 1 competition this weekend was Kew losing top spot on the ladder after being defeated by the Preston Bullants. This leaves Ormond as the only remaining undefeated side to date, whilst at the other end of the ladder, the Monash Blues and Elsternwick, who both copped heavy defeats on the weekend just gone, are still searching for their first win.

Kew suffered their first loss of the season at the hands of the Preston Bullants, going down by 18 points. Preston dominated this game from the get go with the first four goals going their way to bank a healthy 26-point lead at quarter-time.

Kew responded swiftly in the second term to build up a narrow lead at half-time, whilst the third quarter belonged to the Bullants who successfully converted inside 50 through the big sticks. It was clear at this stage that there was a “scoring end” at Victoria Park with fifteen of the eighteen goals before three quarter-time being kicked at one particular end.

Unfortunately for Kew, they failed to capitalise on this statistic in the last quarter as the Bullants carried themselves home to the final siren and claimed the four points.

A high-scoring affair at Scammell Reserve saw Oakleigh defeat UHS-VU by 20 points. The tone was set early on as both sides battled it out in a close first quarter with plenty of goals scored. UHS-VU edged ahead in the second term to be 19-points ahead at quarter-time, but the momentum turned in the third quarter as Oakleigh reduced their deficit to just 5-points, setting up a thrilling final quarter.

Oakleigh kicked an early goal in the fourth, and whilst UHS-VU quickly retaliated with one of their own, it was Oakleigh who owned the game from thereon in, finding their way in front and building their lead to win this match.

Luke Ashen continued his stellar season with seven goals to his name, whilst Brandon Jackson of UHS-VU deserves recognition for his six goals.

The Monash Blues had a tough day out, thrashed by an undefeated Ormond by 83 points. Ormond established their dominance from the early stages of this game, kicking seven goals to two in the first quarter.

To Monash’s credit, they didn’t drop their heads and kept Ormond accountable in the second term as both sides matched each other on the scoreboard, but unfortunately, they couldn’t back those efforts up in the second half as Ormond surged out of the centre and time and time again scored goals, whilst the Blues only managed two more majors for the remainder of the day.

Despite their defeat, Andre Headberry was critical for Monash with four goals, whilst Samuel Bailey of Ormond kicked four goals of his own to take his tally this season to sixteen goals.

Old Peninsula notched up their fourth win of 2025 with an 89-point thrashing of Therry Penola. The Pirates started this game strong with a dominant showing right throughout the first half to be up by 40-points at the main break.

They extended this lead in the third-quarter as Therry Penola struggled to stop their scoring opportunities, and brought the game home comfortably in the final quarter with seven goals to two.

Bailey Payze impressed with eight goals for the Pirates, as did their captain George Fletcher with five of his own. Nathan Thomas, Damien Watson and Jarrod Egglestone were amongst the best players for Therry Penola.

The biggest margin in Round 5 saw Elsternwick fall victim to Brunswick by an emphatic 103 points in a re-match of last year’s Division 2 Grand Final. Brunswick started on top with seven goals to none in the first term, leaving Elsternwick with a lot of work to do.

Elsternwick found the goals twice in the second term but it was clear the momentum carried with Brunswick whose fast start provided them a major mental advantage. The third quarter was similar with Brunswick continuing to find ways to edge ahead.

Ultimately, Brunswick’s full four quarter effort was too much for Elsternwick to catch up on as Brunswick surged home in the final quarter to win comfortably and push themselves up to 6th on the ladder. For the winning side, Oscar Watt and Joe Gale starred with six and five goals respectively.

The action continues in Round 6 with an exciting match-up looming between Ormond and the Preston Bullants. Ormond are undefeated and will always put on a good display at their home ground, whilst Preston will be looking to carry their momentum from their win against Kew and push for a top-two spot.

Two of the high-scoring sides, Old Peninsula and Oakleigh, will face off with the winner to land a top-four spot at the end of this round. Both of these sides are full of powerful forwards who have kicked bags of goals this season.

The Monash Blues will be looking for their first win of the season when they host Brunswick. Monash’s average losing margin this season has been six goals and this will be something they are looking to correct going into this match.

Elsewhere, UHS-VU with one win to their name will be looking to defeat the winless Elsternwick and rise up the ladder, whilst Therry Penola, with also one win to their name, will face Kew, who will be out to respond after just dropping their first game of the season.