VAFA William Buck Premier Men’s Round 8 Preview

The ladder stretched out after last weekend’s pivotal clashes. Who can make a pre-bye move to strengthen their position in Round 8? Let’s take a closer look.

OLD HAILEYBURY vs ST BERNARD’S (Saturday 2pm – Princes Park)

The match of the round sees the 3^rd placed Bloods host the 5^th placed Snowdogs – dubbed the ‘Road Dogs’ by VAFA Media’s Pat Cortazzo, given St Bernard’s are 4-0 on the road & 0-3 at home.

They’ll need to bring their impeccable road form to Caulfield South if they are to continue their perfect away run, because they’ll be facing an Old Haileybury high on confidence and belief after defeating St Kevin’s at TH King for the first time.

Daniel Ward’s men are on a 4-game winning streak and are worthy of their Top 3 position. Well-balanced in all three zones, they boast a solid defence (ranked #4), a potent attack (ranked #3), and a midfield capable of servicing both ends of the ground.  

The Bloods are playing an efficient style, given they are #8 for Disposals but #2 for Inside 50s.

Last in the competition for Marks & Uncontested Marks, they are not your modern-day ‘chip it around’ team.

In old-school parlance, they “just get it in there!” and are ranked #1 for Inside 50 differential as a result.

They win their share of footy on the inside (#3 Clearances & Contested Possessions) and don’t muck around with it, given they have sharpshooters Andreas Stefanakis (19 goals) and Harrison Jones (16 goals) both in red-hot form.

These are the Top 2 Centre Clearances teams, and their ability to win it out of the middle will prove crucial, given the Snowdogs have some weapons of their own, including spearhead Matthew Watson (17 goals, including 13 in his past 4 games).

They are also the Top 2 Goal Accuracy teams (St Bernard’s slightly ahead of Old Haileybury), and this one may come down to who nails their shots in the big moments.

But first, the Dogs will need to clean up their ball use. No team turns it over more in their forward zone than the Dogs and they butchered it horrifically against the Cards, conceding a whopping 8 goals from turnovers in the first quarter alone.

Steve Alessio knows that his team needs better ball security this week or they’ll be staring down the barrel once again. Expect a strong response from his group, who have shown a preparedness to roll up their sleeves in hostile environments on the road.

It’s a huge game for the Dogs in particular. Win and they could be as high as equal second by Saturday night. Lose and they could be as low as seventh! 

Don’t miss this critical clash, live streaming from 1.55pm on VAFA.com.au!

OLD SCOTCH vs UNIVERSITY BLUES (Saturday 2pm – Camberwell Sportsground)

Are the reigning champs back? Four straight losses had Old Scotch’s title defence teetering early, but a stirring final quarter comeback against the Blacks was followed by a thumping victory over St Bernard’s at the Snake Pit last weekend, suggesting the premiers are regaining their mojo.

They’ve had to adapt to life without a number of VFL-listed & injured front-liners, but the return of James Tarrant last week saw their forward line click back into gear as their pressure game up the ground harried the Snowdogs into error, upon which they capitalised in fine style.

Their next challenge is the unpredictable and hungry Blues, who will be champing at the bit to snap their 3-game losing streak by making a statement at Camberwell.

Matt Smith’s men have been more competitive than their 2-5 record might suggest, given two of their losses were by a point to St Bernard’s (Round 1) and 2 points (Old Xavs last week), plus they led the Bloods at three-quarter time a fortnight ago.

The key to success for the Blues is taking their chances when they are on top in a game. Two weeks ago, they kicked 0.6 after leading at half-time. Last weekend, they booted 1.5 in the last quarter, when a couple of goals could have put the game to bed.

But their ability to lead both the Bloods and Xavs for extended periods is strong form, given where they both sit on the table.

The Cardinals will be buoyed by their barnstorming finish against Blacks at the same venue a fortnight ago, when they came from 38 points down at the last change to all but tie the game (but for Angus Jones’ soccer kick clipping the post).

So, while they won’t want to fall behind again, they’ll have confidence in their ability to see out the game, knowing that the Blues have been shaky in the closing stages.

Is this the week the Blues put all the pieces together and give their season the lightning bolt it’s looking for? Another loss might leave them in the drop zone after 8 rounds and it feels like they’re a better team than that.

Mind you, De La Salle aside, they ALL feel like better teams than that!

Tune into our live stream from 1.55pm Saturday on VAFA.com.au.

OLD XAVERIANS vs COLLEGIANS (Saturday 2.30pm – Toorak Park)

Speaking of teams who feel too good to be in the relegation zone, Collegians are in the same boat, stranded on 2 wins after failing to close out tight games against the Blues, Snowdogs and SKOB at Harry Trott.

The Lions dug in and found a way to spark their campaign when they took the Cardinals to task in Round 3. Now they must do it again against the second-placed Xavs, who have won 4 of their last 5.

But while their win-loss record sits at 5-2, it feels like Xavs are gettable. The Bloods had them in trouble, as did the Blues last week. To their credit, they lifted admirably and charged home to secure the points.

Collegians’ coach Jordie McKenzie would have been pleased by his team’s ability to win contested footy against the Tonners last week, but just as displeased with their use of the ball once they secured it. 82 turnovers directly led to 9 of Old Brighton’s 14 goals.

Another area the Lions will be looking to tighten up is Scores from Stoppage. The Tonners’ other 5 goals came direct from clearance work, and we know how damaging the likes of Sam Fisher, Marcus Stavrou & Campbell Lane can be for Xavs if given some time and space to work in.

But it’s not all bad for Collegians, who remain capable of stretching anyone if they get their game going. The competition’s joint leading goalkicker, Alex Lukic, was held goalless for the first time this season. The Lions will be looking to get him involved early, because when he’s up and firing, he’s a tough man to stop.

Xavs tend to score more by committee, with a number of dangerous avenues to goal creating headaches for opposition defences.

It’s tough to keep all of Charlie MacIsaac, Stirling Phipps-Parsons and Wade Brusnahan quiet at once – which comes back to the importance of Collegians once again winning the inside ball, but this week, using it better to play front-half footy, thereby limiting the supply to Xavs’ game-winners.

Is this the week the Lions finally win and Xavs finally lose a close one? Or will Dan Donati’s men roll into the bye secure in second spot, leaving Collegians battling in the drop zone?

Watch live on VAFA.com.au and listen in on the SEN app from 2pm on Saturday. Paddy Grindlay & the team will bring you a special half-hour pre-game show, leading into the 2.30pm bounce.

And if you’re watching our other games, you can flick over to catch the final quarter of Xavs-Collegians after those other games have finished!

UNIVERSITY BLACKS vs ST KEVIN’S (Saturday 2pm – Melbourne Uni Oval)

Recent results have made this clash all the more interesting, with Blacks entering Round 8 on a 2-game winning streak while SKOB are coming off a rare loss at home.

Dale Bower’s Blacks lost 4 of their first 5 matches to be in danger of losing touch with the Top 4, but back-to-back wins over Old Scotch and De La Salle have steadied the ship and given them a platform to launch into the middle section of their season.

The move of Campbell Moorfield from Big V defender to marking forward over the past fortnight has been a masterstroke, helping unlock the Blacks’ scoring potential. In the early rounds, it was Matthew Grocott and Thomas St.Clair battling two-out to kick a winning score.

The arrival of Moorfield Inside 50 has provided another legitimate marking option that helps to spread the opposition defence and create holes that weren’t previously there.

Last week, it saw Grocott, St Clair and Louis Vescio all slot 4 goals apiece, while Campbell bobbed up with 2 of his own.

Now they must deal with the perennially miserly SKOB defence, which is once again ranked #2 this season, conceding an average of just 62 points per game.

St Kevin’s will remain focused on winning the contest as usual, and the numbers indicate they can gain a significant edge on the inside, considering they are first for Clearance Differential, while Blacks are last. 

If they can’t get their hands on the footy, the Blacks will at least need to close the exits to prevent SKOB’s dynamic mids from getting outside and feeding their potent attack, led by Sam Barnett (17 goals) and Patrick Kerr (15 goals).

Barnett has been a revelation since transferring from Old Geelong this season, averaging 17 disposals, 5 marks, and 6 goal involvements per game. Like Moorfield at the other end, his arrival adds a new dimension to the forward setup, ensuring opposition defenders can’t sag off and focus solely on Kerr.

It feels like a statement match for the Blacks.

Win this at home and they draw level with SKOB, possibly sitting just outside the Top 4 on percentage alone, carrying substantial momentum into a crucial month after the bye that has them facing the other four Top 5 teams. But if they lose, they will enter that challenging month two games behind the pace once again.

OLD BRIGHTON vs DE LA SALLE (Saturday 2pm – Brighton Beach Oval)

The final game of the weekend pits top versus bottom in what, on paper, is the most lopsided Premier Men’s game of the season so far.

But games aren’t played on paper, and Nick Hyland’s De La Salle will head to Brighton Beach Oval with no expectations placed on them whatsoever. If they can harness the freedom that brings and hang around long enough to make the Tonners start to wonder why the game isn’t going to script, then anything is possible.

The key for De La Salle (as it has been every week this season) is concentration and intensity. When they lose the first, the second drops off, and the game gets taken away from them.

Every team in this league knows they must challenge Old Brighton for the full four quarters, especially at home, where they have won 13 straight since the start of 2024.

As they were last season, the Tonners are the clear pacesetters and benchmark. They went 7-0 by an average of 31 points in 2024 before suffering their first loss in Round 8.

This year, they have started even better to be 7-0 by an average of 52 points. Only St Kevin’s has challenged them (7 points in Round 4), with the next closest being 45 points against Old Scotch the following week.

But De La can use this to their advantage if they find a way to respond and stay close every time the Tonners threaten to kick away. It will require gritty and desperate defence when the league leaders have their tails up, and then taking their chances when they arise – especially on the counter.

Most importantly, it will take four full quarters of concentration to stop Old Brighton from breaking the game open in a 10-minute burst.

Can De La swing for the fences and pull off the upset of the year? Or will the Tonners steamroll their way to 8-0 with a 14^th consecutive win at Fortress Brighton?

Amateur Footballer Record – Week 8

WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 8  

SATURDAY MAY 31

Old Scotch              vs             University Blues       VAFA.com.au LIVE STREAM – 1.55pm

Old Haileybury       vs             St Bernard’s               VAFA.com.au LIVE STREAM – 1.55pm

University Blacks    vs             St Kevin’s              

Old Brighton           vs             De La Salle                                                                

Old Xaverians        vs             Collegians                  SEN app & VAFA TV LIVE STREAM – 2pm    

Watch matches on-demand on VAFATV