William Buck Premier Men’s Round 18 Preview

It all comes down to the Final Round.

Just like last year, we’re going all the way to the wire, with a ‘Pre-Limination Final’ to decide fourth spot, and two matches that will decide who accompanies De La Salle to Premier B next season. Here’s your preview.

OLD HAILEYBURY vs OLD SCOTCH (Saturday 2pm – Haileybury College, Keysborough)

Let’s start with the race for fourth.

Three weeks ago, I declared Old Scotch’s premiership defence ‘officially over.’

Now you understand why I don’t tip – because what would I know??!

Two weeks ago, the Cardinals were two games plus 8 percent behind the Bloods, with just two games to play. If the Bloods had won either of their games over the past fortnight or the Blacks had won both, Old Scotch’s premiership defence was over.

Furthermore, if the Cards didn’t also snap their 4-game losing streak by beating both the Snowdogs and Blacks, their premiership defence was over.

Somehow, all of this has transpired, and we find ourselves with last year’s Premier Men’s champions facing last year’s Premier B champions at Haileybury College for that fourth finals spot.

The reigning premiers are threatening to do a Steven Bradbury in 2025.

They had 15 players sign with VFL clubs this season, and they’ve missed that top-end talent for much of the season. The question was always whether they could win enough games without them to be close enough to make a late lunge when they returned. The answer is YES. Just.

The Cardinals are starting to look like their 2024 premiership selves, and let’s not forget that they came from a fair way back last season, losing their last two home & away matches before finding their stride in September.

But what about the Bloods?

Old Haileybury’s first half of the season was magnificent. Continuing the dominant form that carried them to a runaway Premier B flag in 2024, they launched into their Premier Men’s return by winning 7 of their first 9 (including 6 on the trot) to be comfortably entrenched in the Top 3 at the halfway mark.

In fact, the only teams they didn’t beat were the Top 2 – the Tonners and Xavs (and they led the Xavs by 28 points at half time) – then fell to Brighton by a solitary point in a great Round 10 performance.

Then they headed to Scotch College in Round 11 and were well beaten by the Cards, but they bounced back to roll the in-form Blacks the following week, and all seemed well again.

However, 4 losses in the past 5 games (giving them a 2-6 record in the back half of the season) has seen what appeared to be a certain finals berth become a Pre-Limination Final this weekend against the team that started their slide.

The Bloods were 3 games clear of the Cards not so long ago, but they have to forget all that and focus on the here and now.

If you’d offered Daniel Ward and his men a one-game playoff to make the finals at the start of the year, they probably would have taken it in a heartbeat. This is where they find themselves now.

Can they rally and rediscover some of the sparkling form that we know they’re capable of? They’re always a chance with the brilliant Andreas Stefanakis up forward, and he enters the final round 9 goals clear of Blue James Stewart in the goalkicking race.

It’s WIN & YOU’RE IN, with the winner to secure fourth spot and a First Semi Final appointment with St Kevin’s in a fortnight’s time.

The Premier Men’s Finals Series starts early & you can enjoy all the drama of this sudden-death showdown LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday!

ST BERNARD’S vs ST KEVIN’S (Saturday 2pm – Snake Pit)

Now to the OTHER race – Relegation – and it’s a race in two between St Bernard’s and Collegians. Whichever club goes down can consider themselves unfortunate, because they’ll have racked up at least 5.5 wins (and potentially 6.5).

The Snowdogs are a game clear of the Lions, so they have their destiny in their own hands. If they can defeat SKOB, they will miraculously avoid relegation by pulling up out of their late-season nosedive just before they hit the side of the mountain.

Entering Round 17, St Bernard’s had lost 6 of their last 7 games and hadn’t beaten any team other than the winless De La Salle since Round 4. We said last week that likely needed to change if they are to survive in the top flight, and they responded with their best performance of the entire season.

With some VFL returnees (led by Jackson Hately), the Snowdogs played Old Haileybury off the park on their way to a thumping 83-point win that kicked them a game clear of Collegians.

But given the Lions face De La this weekend, the odds suggest that the Dogs will need another stellar performance to knock off a second finals contender in as many weeks if they are to remain ahead of Collegians and survive.

A week ago, you’d have given them little chance. However, last weekend’s display was so impressive (albeit against an out-of-form Bloods) that SKOB know they will be in for an enormous challenge when they climb down into the Snake Pit.

Given St Kevin’s are locked into third regardless of the result this weekend, do they take the opportunity to rest a few tired and sore players? Or, given there is a Pre-Finals Bye this year, does Anthony Lynch not want to flirt with form and risk having players not play a competitive match for a full 3 weeks before their cut-throat final?

As has been the case for much of the last decade, the Skobbers have timed their run to perfection, arriving at the final round on a 7-game winning streak that includes the prized scalp of league leaders Old Brighton.

Do they hit September on an 8-game winning run, or do the Snowdogs defy the odds with an incredible tale of survival?

Find out in our KTV double-header – Reserves into Seniors from 11.35am Saturday, streaming LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Kommunity TV!

COLLEGIANS vs DE LA SALLE (Saturday 2pm – Harry Trott Oval)

Snowdog fans will also be keeping an eye on proceedings at Harry Trott Oval as the Lions look to pile on the pressure by defeating De La and forcing the Dogs to win or be relegated.  

If they’d been able to get over the line in their single-digit matches this season (they are 0-5-1), the Lions would be two games clear in fourth, locked in to playing the First Semi Final against St Kevin’s.

But honourable losses don’t deliver any premiership points, and they now find themselves relying on SKOB to beat the Snowdogs while they defeat De La if they are to continue their current run in the top flight, which stretches all the way back to 2007.

Their last month of form reinforces that they are playing much better than you’d expect from a ninth-placed side, with a strong win over St Bernard’s, plus narrow losses to the Top 3 teams – St Kevin’s (4pts), Old Xavs (2pts), and being level with the Tonners 9 minutes into the final term at Brighton last week before the hosts kicked away late.

Sadly for the Purple Army, that’s been the story of the year – good enough to more than challenge the best teams, but unable to go the full four quarters to close games out.

They can’t afford a similar slip-up against De La or they will be joining them in Premier B next season.

While De La haven’t won a game in 2025, they share some similarities with the Lions – primarily their ability to hang with teams for an extended period, but eventually drop off and lose touch.

The difference between the two teams has been that the Lions have lasted longer and therefore been defeated by smaller amounts, whereas De La have been punished late for some blow-out losses, such as their triple-digit defeat at the hands of SKOB last week.

But the reality is that none of that matters now. It’s all about the four quarters to come, and the Lions know that De La will come out breathing fire as they try to avoid a winless season.

With prime movers such as Rob Amendola in fantastic form, the longer they hang in this contest, the greater the pressure on Collegians. This game will be a psychological battle as well as a physical one!

Two extremely motivated teams collide by the lake. Will the Lions keep their survival hopes alive by getting the job done over De La, or will Nick Hyland’s troops finish their challenging season in style and set up a rematch with the Lions in Premier B next season?

OLD XAVERIANS vs UNIVERSITY BLACKS (Saturday 2 pm – Toorak Park)

Old Xavs will be returning to the finals for the first time since 2022, but will they be doing it on a 3-game winning streak (having won 11 of their last 12), or will they be on the rebound after dropping a game to the Blacks?

The Blacks’ dream of returning to September was shattered by a loss to a rampant Old Scotch last weekend, but their overall season has shown promise, suggesting they are well capable of taking the next step in 2026.

Their 5-game winning streak between Rounds 6 and 10 featured three thrilling last-gasp wins and showcased the grit and resilience that Dale Bower’s team has shown in spades this season.

However, they ran out of gas down the stretch and couldn’t beat the teams around them, with SKOB, the Blues and Cards all getting the best of them when it mattered most.

But Xavs coach Dan Donati will be on high alert. He knows that the Blacks are capable of playing some irresistible football and will be motivated to close out their season of growth in style with a win over a team that could potentially go on to win the flag.

Xavs did the same thing themselves, defeating eventual premiers Old Scotch in the final round last season and proved to themselves that they are good enough to hang with the best in the competition. They haven’t looked back since.

The Red & Black brigade has been hit with a slew of injuries to front-liners in recent weeks, so opportunity knocks for some fringe players to lock in their spot in a team destined to go deep into September. This game represents one last chance to impress the coach and convince him that you’re in his best line-up.

Can the Blacks throw one last curveball into this crazy campaign, or will the Xavs put the pressure on the Tonners in the race for the minor premiership?

Find out, streaming LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday!

UNIVERSITY BLUES vs OLD BRIGHTON (Saturday 2pm – Melbourne Uni Oval)

The final game of the round will see Old Brighton look to close out back-to-back minor premierships.

Last week, they completed two perfect home seasons, having won all nine games at Fortress Brighton for a second consecutive year.

Their away form has almost been as impressive – 6 wins from 8 starts, with an average winning margin of 45 points.

They have no obvious deficiencies and will enter another September campaign on the first line of favouritism – this time along Old Xavs, who they’ll meet in the Second Semi Final in a fortnight’s time.

But first they must face the most unpredictable team in the competition – Uni Blues – who won just 2 of their first 8 to be shaping as a relegation candidate, before lost just 2 of their next 8 to kick clear of the drop zone and establish themselves as one of the form teams of the competition.

The 3-game winning streak that saw them defeat the 3 teams immediately above them on the ladder – the Bloods, Cards and Blacks – was snapped by a rampaging Xavs last week, and it will be interesting to see how they finish their campaign against the league-leaders.

A Tonners win will see them finish top, but that’s essentially nothing more than a nice moniker, given the reward for finishing first or second is exactly the same.

Does Marcel Bruin take the opportunity to rest a few sore bodies (such as skipper Harry Hill, who they missed so terribly last September), or will he keep driving hard so his team hits the finals on the back of a 6-game winning streak and in peak form?

The Blues are capable of anything, led by the comp’s leading ball-winner Darcy Chirgwin and it’s 2^nd ranked goalkicker James Stewart.

Can they lead their team to make a final round statement and finish on a high, or will the Tonners put a bow on another minor premiership?

WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 18

SATURDAY AUGUST 30 – 2pm:

Old Haileybury         vs             Old Scotch                         VAFA.com.au & SEN app – 1.45pm

St Bernard’s             vs             St Kevin’s                            Kommunity TV double-header – 11.35am

Old Xaverians          vs             University Blacks                VAFA.com.au LIVE STREAM – 1.55pm

Collegians                 vs             De La Salle

University Blues       vs             Old Brighton                          

Watch matches on-demand on VAFATV

Amateur Footballer Record – Week 19