Ormond’s perfect record continues, whilst Kew book their preliminary final ticket

After days of unpleasant weather causing havoc across Melbourne, the skies cleared on Saturday for the beginning of the Division 1 finals. Top-seed Ormond continued their perfect season with a victory over 2nd-placed Old Peninsula, whilst Oakleigh’s season has come to an end after being outplayed by an impressive Kew outfit.

Ormond defeated Old Peninsula by 17 points in the qualifying final at the Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

Whilst the worst of the rain had passed, the wind was always going to be a factor at the Trevor Barker Oval, and that certainly showed in the first quarter as both sides were inaccurate in front of goal.

Ormond kicked the first two majors to set the pace early and get their supporters excited, but five behinds to the Monders in the time on stage saw some opportunities go missing that could’ve set them much further ahead.

QT: Ormond 2.6.18 – Old Peninsula 1.3.9

The second quarter didn’t see significant progress on the scoreboard as both teams acclimatised to the conditions, but the feeling was that Ormond were a step ahead with the Monders finding more scoring opportunities inside 50 and extended their lead by half-time.

HT: Ormond 4.9.33 – Old Peninsula 2.4.16

The game opened up in an attacking, high-scoring third quarter as both sides showcased their best footy as they aimed for an express pass to the Grand Final. Old Peninsula responded after a slow start as they began to link up across all lines and play to their plan.

The Pirates kicked three unanswered goals halfway into this quarter to bring their deficit back to 1-point. Their 7-goal haul in the third term saw them win the quarter, however Ormond steadied with a couple of late goals to give them a narrow, but important, 12-point lead into the final change.

3QT: Ormond 10.14.74 – Old Peninsula 9.8.62

The stage was set for a thrilling final quarter as it was Ormond who fired out of the blocks with an early goal to increase their lead. The Pirates found one a few minutes later but Ormond quickly responded, providing themselves with a 16-point lead halfway into the term.

The Ormond crowd breathed a sigh of relief as Jackson Hille goaled to take their lead up to a healthy 24-points, and despite a late Old Peninsula goal, the margin proved to be too much for the Pirates to overturn as Ormond claimed victory, and with that, have secured their Grand Final ticket and a promotion to Premier C in 2026.

FT: Ormond 13.16.94 – Old Peninsula 11.11.77

It was a team effort for Ormond with the goals spread around eight different players, with some of the best players on ground including Kai Seeto-Grossi, Flyn O’Toole, and Harrison Ross. Old Peninsula’s William Crowder and Bailey Payze will go into the preliminary final against Kew in good form, having contributed four and three goals respectively.

Coburg City Oval played host to the elimination final as Kew defeated Oakleigh by 39 points.

Similar to the Ormond v Old Peninsula final, this game also started scrappy with a litany of behinds dominating the first quarter. Just two goals were kicked in the first quarter, with Luke Ashen kicking off proceedings midway through the first quarter, supported by Oliver Thomson in the latter stages of the quarter, to give Oakleigh a 16-point lead at quarter-time.

QT: Kew 0.2.2 – Oakleigh 2.6.18

Kew clicked into gear in the second quarter as the Bears managed to move the ball from the centre to forward 50 and make the most of their opportunities up forward. Oakleigh could only manage one goal as the Bears defenders went to work and supported the rest of their team.

HT: Kew 5.4.34 – Oakleigh 3.6.24

The third quarter was much the same as Kew kept the momentum and accelerated further ahead. Despite Oakleigh’s best efforts to stay competitive, the Krushers couldn’t keep up as the Bears increased their lead to 22-points by three quarter time.

3QT: Kew 8.6.54 – Oakleigh 4.8.32

Oakleigh had their chances in the fourth quarter but couldn’t convert, just collecting the four behinds. Kew continued to surge ahead with a further three goals to finish the game as the clear standout of the two teams and advance to a preliminary final against Old Peninsula.

FT: Kew 11.9.75 – Oakleigh 4.12.36

Alexander Chiocci, Tom Johnstone and Ned Waters were amongst the best players for Kew, whilst on their final outing for 2025, Oakleigh’s Liam Gillard, Roman Velona and Nicholas Torpey were amongst their best on ground.

Four has become three with just Ormond, Old Peninsula and Kew left in the race to be crowned Division 1 premiers for 2025.

The action continues in the preliminary final which sees Old Peninsula meeting Kew, with the winner to earn promotion to Premier C and a spot in the Grand Final with Ormond.

When the two sides met in Round 18, it was Old Peninsula who were the big winners in a 79-point thrashing on Kew’s home turf, however it was a different story back in Round 9 when it was Kew who defeated the Pirates by a very similar margin of 78 points.

The performance of key goal-kickers such as Bailey Payze and Regan Smith of Old Peninsula and Kew, respectively, could play a significant part in deciding which way this game will go. All is set for the preliminary final to be a nail biter.