Jackas joy & a Beauy blitz – Premier C Men’s Semi Final Review

Beaumaris are through to Premier C Grand Final Day, while AJAX saw off a fast-finishing St Bedes/Mentone Tigers to sneak through to the Preliminary Final.

Here’s Semi-Final weekend of Premier C in review:

1^st SEMI FINAL – AJAX 7.16 (58) d. ST BEDES/MENTONE TIGERS 8.5 (53)

The Tigers and Jackas battled for third spot all the way to September, and that battle continued all the way to the final siren of their cut-throat First Semi Final at a blustery Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

AJAX had use of the breeze in the opening term and rocketed out of the gates, kicking two goals in the opening 75 seconds to jump out to a handy lead early.

The Jackas would go on to post 7 scoring shots to 1, but unfortunately, they left some points on the table, booting 2.5 to 0.1 to only lead by 16 points at the first break.

When Remy Spicer booted the opening goal of the second term INTO the breeze for AJAX, the Tigers needed an urgent response. It took them another 10 minutes, but Tom Garside’s goal – followed by another to Jake Ryder five minutes later – stabilised the situation for St Bedes/Mentone, with the margin back to a manageable 10 points entering time-on.

The Tigers finished the term strongly, and goals to Liam Bowles and Noah Hughes handed them their first lead in the shadows of half-time and they headed to the major break having got themselves back into the contest and 4 points up.

The Jackas needed to seize back the initiative with the wind in the third quarter, and Max Herzel duly obliged to put them back in front 3 minutes in. But a goal into the gale from Ben Murphy saw another lead change 7 minutes later, and it was time for AJAX to make the most of the conditions.

They peppered the goals in the second half of the third term but couldn’t find the middle. A string of 5 consecutive behinds was finally snapped by a Justin Vogel at the 31-minute mark and the Jackas headed to the final break with an 11-point lead – the First Semi Final delicately balanced, given the Tigers would come home with the wind.

As they did in the second term, AJAX struck first into the breeze in the last quarter as Max Herzel booted his third of the afternoon to extend their lead to a handy 17 points.

Darcy Fountain responded 2 minutes later to bring the Tigers back within 2 straight kicks as another period of stalemate ensued. We would wait another 9 minutes for a major, and it was St Bedes/Mentone Big V gun Jack Behnk who delivered it to reduce the margin to just 5 points and the game was well and truly alive with 15 minutes to play.

Another 12 agonisingly tense goalless minutes followed before the Tigers finally got the goal they had been searching for. Liam Bowles nailed a superb set shot from the pocket to hand St Bedes/Mentone a 5-point lead at the 25-minute mark, but that advantage was short-lived.

A quick kick inside 50 was marked by Toby Sheezel 35 metres out and he nailed the set shot to restore AJAX’s lead at the 27-minute mark. Despite St Bedes/Mentone’s desperate late efforts, the Jackas hung on to claim a thrilling victory and progress to Preliminary Final Day – at least a step further than their Semi Final of 2024.

Heartbreak for the Tigers, who enjoyed a strong season after being relegated back to Premier C in 2025 and have consolidated for an assault on the title in 2026.

Lachie Buszard (AJAX): “A really tough day for footy with the blustery gale-force winds at Sandy meaning the game was essentially played in one half.

“It was a very even contest at half-time, then we were wasteful in the third, kicking 2.9 with the wind to keep them in the game.

“A huge last quarter effort to kick two goals into the wind proved the difference and we were able to hang on.

“Our captain Kane Nissenbaum was huge in the second half, as were Lewis, Israel and Herzel.

“Given we are the fourth-rated side, a prelim is a free hit for us against a side with ex-AFL and current VFL-listed talent.”

Brad Berry (St Bedes/Mentone Tigers): “The game was decided by under a kick, so a bounce of ball one way or other can easily bring a different result. It was a typical final, and credit to both sides. The pressure was next level.

“Both sides defended magnificently against the wind. We were able to handball our way through them but didn’t take a couple of red-hot chances in the third quarter. In the final term, the Jackas were able to capitalise.

“Twenty minutes in, we thought we had them. Play stopped for a stretcher break and we wish the injured player a speedy recovery. Momentum shifted and you get those little moments in footy.

“I expect Lachie would agree that not one of the 44 players left anything out there. There had to be a winner and a loser. His boys will have a decent crack at Parkside next week.

“For us, Max Sullivan probably had a career best game. We had a great mix of young & old in our best – Lucas Ritter down back, Jack Hellier in high HF role. Jake Ryder – I’d hate to play against him. He was probably our best mid on the day.

“2024 was a year of learning for us in Prem B and we had to re-establish our very young list against seasoned bodies. We got good momentum from the end of last season, and we had 104 senior players & two Under 19s teams on the track over summer. We rebuilt a place where players want to come & be, with a ‘one club’ mantra.

“I feel like we’re right on target to keep progressing next year in our goal to return to Premier B. It’s gonna take us another 12 months, but we’re in good shape to do it, with player retention, ongoing development and another 12 months into our young bodies. Hopefully our Reserves can win the premiership and we can build from that also.

“We certainly have the right chemistry in our group – there’s already a sense of unfinished business from 2025.”

2^nd SEMI FINAL – BEAUMARIS 13.23 (101) d. PARKDALE VULTURES 7.8 (50)  

The two standout teams of Premier C locked horns for a place in the Grand Final and guaranteed promotion to Premier B in 2026.

Beaumaris seized the early initiative, dominating both on the ground and in the air in the opening term (16 Clearances to 5 and 6 Contested Marks to 0 against the #1 Contested Marking team in the comp).

Yet the Sharks failed to convert those advantages into territorial dominance (11 Inside 50s to 9) or scoreboard pressure – they actually trailed by 8 points at the first break after kicking 0.6 to the Vultures’ 2.2.

But Beauy didn’t fret their lost opportunities and remained focused on building dominance on the back of winning disputed ball. Led by ruck Callum Heath, the Sharks were holding a clear edge in contested footy.

In the second term, their intercept game also started to gather steam, particularly in the air as they hauled in 8 Intercept Marks for the quarter with a solid defensive structure behind the ball which allowed them extended periods in their front half.

Darcy Brown was battling hard for the Vultures, collecting 11 disposals and 4 Rebounds for the term, but it was an indication of how much the ball was living in Parkdale’s defensive zone.

Yet the reward continued to elude Beaumaris, as they added a further 2.8 for the term to head to the major break 2 points down despite having generated 16 scores to 8.

The contest tightened in the third quarter as Parkdale evened up the ruck and clearance battles. Beaumaris still held the edge in disputed ball around general play, driven by their intense pressure (16 Tackles to 8 for the term).

It was 3.4 to 2.3 the Sharks’ way, leaving the Second Semi delicately poised after Jai Florent’s classy running goal from 45 metres out at the 24-minute mark saw Beaumaris head to the final huddle with a 5-point lead.

But just as a thriller looked likely, the Sharks’ found another gear, finally converting their contested dominance into scoreboard dominance.

All elements of their game clicked together neatly and they completely controlled the final quarter, racking up 19 Inside 50s to 3 on the back of winning first possession, taking territory, then locking the ball into their front half.

The Vultures were pinned on the ropes as the Sharks hunted and pressured them into submission with 20 Tackles to 7, despite the disposal count being virtually even (+2 to Beauy).  

The result was 13 scores to 2 as Beaumaris snatched the Grand Final ticket and scampered away with it, ramming on 8.5 to 1.1 in a scintillating quarter of football befitting a team racking up its 16^th straight win.

The final margin blew out to 51 points, with 36 Scoring Shots to 15 an even more telling reflection of the Sharks’ dominance, and they will return to Premier B in 2026 after being relegated by less than 2% at the end of last season.

Ruck Cal Heath was dominant with 20 disposals (18 contested), 6 contested marks, 43 hit-outs, 10 clearances, 7 Inside 50s and a goal.

It was only Parkdale’s second loss of the season – both to Beaumaris – and Owen Lalor’s men will need to dust themselves off and regroup quickly, ahead of a Preliminary Final appointment with the Jackas.

Josh Bourke (Beaumaris): “We have the utmost respect for Parkdale and the way they go about it. I couldn’t be prouder of how our group went about it.

“In close games like that, when you’ve got the run of play but aren’t quite converting, it’s easy to get panicky. I thought we held our nerve and stuck to our plan really well. Honestly, it would be hard for me to name a single player who didn’t have significant moments for us.

“We knew the ruck battle we would be crucial, in establishing some control in the midfield. We thought Heath was huge in there. Both teams have forwards who can hit the scoreboard, so we certainly talked about trying to win the Inside 50 count and control the game in our front half.

“Once we got the ball in our front half, we set the ground up really well. If we give our fwds constant supply they will score. We also tried to manage their mids in transition as they have the ability to run fwd and hurt you.

“It’s a huge achievement for the club. We know how difficult it is to go down and bounce straight back up, but we set ourselves for that 12 months ago and have been fully committed to it ever since. The most exciting thing for me as a coach is that this group just keeps getting better every time they play together—that’s rare.

“For much of 2025, it looked like AJAX and Parkdale had the edge on the competition, so we know whoever wins through will be up for it.

“We’ll certainly enjoy the chance to freshen a few players up and sharpen some elements of our game. Internally, we’re incredibly driven to finish the year well, and no doubt we’ll also get right behind both our 19s (Grand Final) and Ressies (Prelim Final), who have huge games this weekend.”

Owen Lalor (Parkdale Vultures): “It was a bad day at the office for us. We were beaten in contested disposal, beaten in clearance, beaten in ground ball and we were beaten up.

“Full credit to Beauy – they were awesome. They were unbelievably quick on the outside – the quickest team in Premier C. Then they were very strong on the inside – their contest work was really good. Their pressure was elite, and our turnovers were really high as a result. But they kept a low turnover count themselves.

“It’s a classic cliché, but we’re now looking for our boys to respond and improve significantly in key areas that are needed to win finals. We’ve got to move on quickly and remind ourselves that we’ve won 17 games for a reason.

“Okay, we didn’t handle the pressure first up and were beaten by a very good side. But our guys have no fear. We’ll get over things and move on. We’ve got a great group of mates here and they’ll all fire up again this week.”

And so, it will be Parkdale & AJAX meeting in a sudden-death final for a second straight season. In 2024, it was the Vultures by 44 points in the First Semi, before Parkdale fell 7 points short of the Grand Final the following week.

So, in 2025 will it be:

• AJAX turning the tables on the team that ended their 2024 campaign; or
• Parkdale Vultures erasing last year’s Prelim disappointment?

Beaumaris awaits the winner of what promises to be an absolute beauty!

PREMIER C PRELIMINARY FINAL – Sunday 2.30pm (Trevor Barker Beach Oval)