Thrillers everywhere in Prem B as Wellers take top spot

Four games decided by 11 points or fewer, three games decided by less than a goal and a new ladder-leader – Round Five of Premier B Men’s competition delivered excellent football for the on-looker and a brutal level of anxiety for its coaching fraternity.

Old Ivanhoe’s undefeated run to start 2025 came to an end on Saturday afternoon, Old Camberwell swiping first place on the ladder from the Hoers in what was a top-of-the-table blockbuster at Gordon Barnard Reserve.

Harry Laukens got the affair underway early, a tidy finish from the pocket coming within the first 90 seconds of the game, but the Wellers were well held in the first, Old Ivanhoe adding goals through Mal Mitris, Alex Mirkov and Lachie Bray to take an 11-point quarter time lead.

The Wellers kicked four goals to one in the second term to wrest back the advantage, and then absorbed the blows of a now-trademarked Old Ivanhoe surge, this time coming in the third term.

Despite trailing at the final break, the Wellers had largely weathered the storm – and a three-goal-to-zero final term saw Old Camberwell home, Neil Connell’s side toppling the competition’s early pace-setter 10.11 (71) to 8.12 (60).

“Everyone (watching) commented that it was a really good game to watch,” said Old Camberwell coach Neil Connell.

The highly-respected Old Ivanhoe stoppage unit was the focus of Connell’s preparation, the coach desperate to at least break even around the ball and keep with the Hoers’ midfielders, who have this year shown an ability to spread rapidly from the first layer of the contest.

“The biggest thing I say to our players is ‘don’t get beaten by what you know,’” Connell said.

“I wanted my players to respect them (Old Ivanhoe’s midfielders), and try to shut down what they’re good at. We just had to run with them, make it a good contest, and try not to get beaten on the outside.”

Particularly notable in the post-match review for Connell was his side’s ability to remain composed and not to “panic” during Old Ivanhoe’s third-quarter dominance.

“Without going into too much depth, we had to respect their better players who were going to hurt us if we weren’t disciplined enough to put the work into them,” he said.

“They got well on top, we then decided to control the ball (and) slowly work our way back into the game.”

Lachie O’Neill across half back was key as an interceptor, while the likes of Callum Rutledge, Jimmy Allen, Sam Veitch and Lachie Harker stuck to their tasks in midfield. 

Hoers big man Alex Mirkov, who Connell named later as “the most dominant ruckman in the league so far,” had Garnet Brennan and Ruben Hopkins for company all day long, who were lauded for their efforts.

The loss is an opportunity for Old Ivanhoe coach Jarrod Giechen and his group to learn from a Wellers side that was “too good” for them in the end.

“A real arm wrestle which is not uncommon for our two clubs – we’ve been playing hard footy against each other for a few years now,” said Gieschen.

“(I was) impressed with some of their new younger players and Veitch stood up big time in the last quarter when the game was on the line. It’s such an even competition and you need to be on every week.”

The one-two punch from Mirkov to Billy Murphy in the clinches was again on display, while skipper Harry Frazer kicked two goals.

After a tough fortnight and a 1-3 start, the Caulfield Grammarians are back on the winners list after outlasting the Old Melburnians in a four-point thriller.

In a game of twists and turns, the Fields took a four-goal lead at the long break after a seven-goal-to-three quarter, in which 32-year-old forward/ruck Julian Dobosz kicked all three of his goals.

“He really turned the clock back,” said Caulfield Grammarians coach Paul Satterley, for the first time coaching against the Redlegs after a five-year stint in charge at Elsternwick Park.

The Old Melburnians had all the play in the third quarter with 11 scoring shots to three, but finished poorly in front of goal and kicked just the three majors, trailing at the final break.

It was a goal-for-goal fourth quarter, Tom Williams putting the Fields in front as the game entered time-on. There wouldn’t be another goal kicked at Glen Huntly Park, the tense final moments of the game largely played out in the OMs’ forward half – but the Fields defended grimly, winners 12.8 (80) to 10.16 (76).

It’s reward for effort for Satterley’s side, which has been in every game this year in the first half, with late fadeouts proving costly.

“We’ve played two A-Grade teams that have come back, we’ve played Old Ivanhoe who are clearly going well, Old Carey and Old Geelong at (Como Park) … in five of the games, we’ve led four of them at half time,” Satterley explained.

“We feel like we’re really competitive, but we’ve just had some real lapses in games – a quarter here, or twenty minutes there.”

It’s just the ninth win enjoyed by the Fields from their last 49 games of footy across the VAFA’s top two Premier divisions – allowing coach Satterley to instil “winning behaviours” in a group that has been starved of recent success.

“They threw everything at us, and it could’ve gone either way. It was that sort of game. We got in front just at the right time, and we’re able to hang on for the last three or four minutes.”

Describing the experience of coaching against his old side as “dancing with your sister,” Satterley lauded the OMs for their efforts on Saturday afternoon.

“I went through COVID with that bunch of lads, we went through so much together, so it’s only natural there’s still a lot of care and empathy for the group,” he said.

Old Melburnians coach Nathan Brown would be forgiven for feeling a little unlucky at 1-4 and eighth position on the ladder – of his side’s four losses, three have come by a margin of five points or fewer.

“(We) had our chances but could not take them, and full credit to ‘Satts’ and Caulfield (for) playing some great footy all day,” he said.

The OMs have the fourth-best percentage across Premier B, but only the one win to show for it, and play a humming Old Camberwell this weekend.

In what was a clash between second and third, Old Trinity prevailed by the barest of margins over Old Carey – the Ts have now won eight of their last ten games and at 4-1 have enjoyed their best start to a season since 2018.

It’s the second one-point result of the season for Old Trinity after its Round One comeback against Old Camberwell fell a point short – Donald McDonald and his side were thrilled to find themselves on the other side of the ledger.

“Old Camberwell (were) clearly the better side for the three quarters … in the end, whether they tired a bit, we started to get our act together,” said McDonald when comparing the two nail-biters on Monday morning.

“We led from the start (against Old Carey), that two-or-three-goal buffer was there right until the end. And they just went bang, bang, bang.”

Old Trinity’s finishing could’ve cost them dearly, but McDonald’s men were able to hold off the Panthers’ late charge 13.15 (93) to 14.8 (92) – Hugh Beasley kicking four goals and Christos Manoussakis in fine form once again.

McDonald, in charge of a group that he feels is building consistency, was effusive in his praise of the Panthers, led by Luke Giles in 2025 after his ascension from assistant coach in 2024.

“They just kept coming. They were excellent. They’ve got so much run and skill and enthusiasm – they’re never out of the contest.”

“We had six out, so we were really happy with the way we competed,” said Giles, without the likes of Luke Kelvie, Will Green and Riley Thompson last Saturday afternoon.

“We gave ourselves a chance to win the game with two late entries but just didn’t get it done. If that game goes two minutes longer, I feel we win, to be honest.”

For the first time Round 5, 2018, Williamstown CYMS has defeated Old Geelong, snapping a run of six losses against the OGs for the club’s best start to a season since 2019.

It wasn’t without a fair chunk of anxiety though, the CYs holding a slender lead grimly at Fearon Reserve, ultimately 12.11 (83) to 11.13 (79) victors after a frantic, defensive finish to the match.

Will Sloss got the OGs off to the perfect start in the last, a high snap taking a wicked off-break and rolling through the centremost uprights in the first minute of the final term, giving Old Geelong a 13-point break.

Skipper Brad Tucker responded for the CYs with a converted long-range set shot, the CYs enjoying a period of dominance across the middle part of the quarter as imperturbable midfielder Jordan Busuttil drove the CYs forward.

Ned Sayers put Williamstown in front, drilling a special running goal from the left forward pocket, followed by a quick snap from Liam Taylor from the top of the goal square to put the CYs two straight kicks clear.

Tim Breadmore would respond at the other end however, kicking off a frenetic five minutes to finish the game, Old Geelong needing a goal to snatch the lead.

The football lived in the OGs’ forward half, the clock ticking well past 30 minutes as the CYs barely held back the blue-and-white tide. The CYs defenders created stoppage after stoppage, laid desperate tackle after desperate tackle, and the siren sounded with the home side clear 12.11 (83) to 11.13 (79), securing a 3-2 start to 2025.

“We were under immense pressure. The buzzer got them, to be brutally honest,” said CYs coach Con Terzoglou on Sunday.

Trailing by 12 points at quarter time, having conceded ten scoring shots whilst scoring just three of their own, the coach explained how the CYs’ Round Four response from a similar position against Old Ivanhoe aided the group in its response after the first break.

“There was no panic at quarter time (after there was at quarter time v Old Ivanhoe). Even though we didn’t get the result last week against Old Ivanhoe, we knew we could come back,” he said, 

“We know that if we can be there in the last, we have the credits in the bank from the Fitzroy game – we can push games out and win.”

“It’s a little bit of a perfect storm. We’ve got the fitness, we’ve done it in the last couple of weeks. I just think that kept us in the game.”

The CYs are now in fifth place on the ladder, clear by percentage over Old Geelong in sixth, both 3-2 sides well and truly in the mix in a competition with razor-thin margins, emphasised by Terzoglou after the final siren.

“The message to the boys after the game was ‘as great as this is, this competition is relentless’,” he said.

Old Geelong coach Nick Dixon was disappointed in his side’s intensity over the course of the game, feeling his team didn’t adapt to the smaller ground.

“I thought it was a real arm wrestle all day,” he said.

“Early on we were able to control the game and live in our front half but just couldn’t make them pay on the scoreboard … we had some chances in the final minutes to go ahead, but all in all, I think Williamstown were the better team and deserved to win”.

Nick Lucena was superb in defence for the OGs and man-mountain Jack Sheridan (66 hitouts) was at his imperious best.

Both Fitzroy and the Hampton Rovers entered Round Five on the hunt for their first win, and in emphatic fashion it was the Roys that broke their 2025 duck.

18-year-old Louis Hodder’s seven-goal haul was the story from Boss James Reserve, the Roys holding Hampton goalless after quarter time and running out 17.17 (119) to 1.10 (16) victors.

“I felt like we’ve been building the last couple of weeks,” said coach Travis Ronaldson. 

“What was most pleasing about it was putting in a good four-quarter performance … it’s very easy in those games when you do get in front to take the foot of the gas and just coast”.

Hodder won the Division 1 Under 19s leading goalkicker gong in 2024 after bagging 69 goals – in his first year of senior footy, he has fit in nicely with the likes of Dane Harvey and Jack Hart in the forward line.

“He’s a local boy, (he) came through the Fitzroy junior footy club,” said Ronaldson.

“(He) did the majority of the pre-season with Box Hill (VFL). He’s a genuine forward – he’s got really good spatial awareness and understanding of when to lead, and where to lead.”

With a challenging run of Old Ivanhoe, Old Trinity, Old Carey and Old Geelong to come over the next four weeks, Ronaldson is keen to use the win as a springboard into 2025 after an 0-4 start to the season.

“That’s the next step – to roll one of the top four sides. The promising thing for us is over the last couple of weeks we’ve started to get some players back, we’re starting to get a side that’s resembling one of our stronger sides.”

It was a tough afternoon for Marty Pask’s Rovers, who have suffered an “unprecedented” amount of injuries.

“We lost another five players to injury last week (and) we would be able to field a fourth side with two emergencies with our injury list,” Pask said. 

“We have taken from our under 19s which has left them playing only 18 players. We are incredibly proud of the way we keep fronting up.”

Old Ivanhoe returns to Chelsworth Park this weekend to meet with Fitzroy while Old Trinity and Old Geelong will play out a re-match of last year’s thrilling semi-final at Como Park.

Williamstown CYMS travel to Glen Huntly Park to meet Caulfield Grammarians, Old Melburnians host Old Camberwell and the Hampton Rovers will make the trip and take on Old Carey.