T’s into top flight, Hoers to play Fields

Old Trinity is the first team to graduate from Premier B to William Buck Premier, holding out against both Old Ivanhoe and a strong Preston City Oval breeze on Saturday to win by 17 points. Donald McDonald’s team, kept out of the Grand Final last year by De La Salle in a heart-stopping preliminary final, will play top flight footy in 2026 – but before they do, they’ll have the chance of taking the pennant in two weeks’ time against either Old Ivanhoe or Caulfield Grammarians.

The Hoers will get their chance against the Fields, who ran away with things late on Sunday afternoon and took a 50-point win over Old Carey. In Paul Satterely’s first year in charge, the Fields have turned a near-drop to Premier C in 2024 into a chance at promotion in 2025.

Here’s how the weekend of finals turned out.

Old Ivanhoe v Old Trinity

The strong breeze blowing to the Bruce Street End made for dissonant styles of ball movement – Old Trinity, kicking with the wind in the first term, pelted the ball long inside 50 at every opportunity while the Hoers, often through star midfielder Billy Murphy, went slow, short and steady through the pockets and flanks.

With five minutes elapsed, Old Trinity star Alex Emery found himself alone at the foot of a goal-line pack, snapping the first goal of the afternoon on his right boot. But despite a ten-minute period of Ts dominance to start the game, Donald McDonald’s side was unable to translate territory control into early scoreboard pressure. Outside of Emery’s goal, Old Trinity kicked a pair of behinds and had another two shots sail out on the full before the Hoers had a shot on goal – a behind at the 12-minute mark.

Boston Dowling broke the run of near misses, drilling a set shot from a free kick directly in front, before Louis Davidson’s weaving run down the grandstand wing laid the path for another Emery snap and score.

Every blade of grass at the Bruce Street End of Preston City Oval was explored by the Hoers’ defenders and midfielders as they searched for a way through the Ts’ defensive press – and when they did progress beyond halfway, the leaping green-and-gold defence was tricky to pass – a flying intercept mark by Old Trinity defender Tom Ferrier an early highlight.

Sam Phillips marauded inside 50 and extended the Ts’ lead to 27 points as the quarter ticked into time-on – a margin that would not be eclipsed for the remainder of the game, and that was eroded minutes later when David Waldron kicked the Hoers’ first, courtesy of a fifty-metre penalty. The Hoers’ defence held off another flurry of entries as the term closed, 21 points the Trinity advantage as coaches Gieschen and McDonald directed their huddles at the break.

Phillips had another say early in the second, involved three times in a chain of handballs that marched the Ts through the centre of the ground and inside 50, but it was Old Ivanhoe’s Waldron with the first goal of the quarter, converting a checkside from the right forward pocket after marking a long Charlie Naish kick to his advantage. 

The work of Charlie Naish (who ended up with seven disposals, six inside 50s, a goal and two goal assists for the quarter) was prominent early in the second. He followed his assist to Waldron with a major of his own after pulling down a contested mark on the goal-line, and then set loose Big V Under 19 skipper Charlie Opie by hand, who cut the margin to under a kick with a goal.

Opie kicked another to put the Hoers in front for the first time, Nivan Gill responded for the Ts with a clever snap out of pack, but a Billy Murphy special from the boundary line and Waldron’s third goal saw the Hoers go into the long break with a ten-point advantage. They’d booted six goals to one and, to that point, only two goals of the 12 managed between the clubs had been kicked at the Cramer Street End. 

As the saying goes in a game of cricket, you can’t judge a pitch until both teams have batted on it. In this case, you couldn’t judge the wind until both sides had kicked with it. Old Ivanhoe’s five-goal second term turnaround informed on-lookers of the advantage the Ts needed to build in the third, if they were to feel comfortable defending in the last.

Things started brightly for the green and gold with the wind, Boston Dowling winning a free kick for holding the ball and converting inside the first 90 seconds of the quarter, then marking a clearing Ben Curtain kick minutes later inside 50 and converting to put the Ts back in front. 

Jimmy Ingpen continued the Ts’ forward momentum with a goal of his own from a set shot, before the brilliant Charlie Naish stood up once more. Marking inside 50 at right half forward, he baulked around Ollie Scott and judged the wind beautifully with a running drop punt, kicking a goal that enraptured the Ivanhoe faithful. The noise from the grandstand only increased when Hoer Rohan McKenzie was caught high at the top of the goalsquare at the 11-minute mark – his goal gave the Hoers both the lead back and consecutive majors into the wind.

The Ts needed to get a move on. They won back the lead through a Jack Jenkins goal, but both sides peppered each major opening for 11 goalless minutes afterwards. With minutes remaining in the quarter and the Ts lead at only four points, things appeared well set for the Hoers to ride home on the breeze.

But Phillips involved himself again, unleashing an almighty drop punt from 55 metres out for his second goal. 10-point lead. With the seconds ticking down, Tom Wenn caught Old Ivanhoe ruckman Alex Mirkov holding the ball 40 metres out from the Ts goal. The siren sounded – Wenn converted.16 point lead.

20 goals had been kicked to three quarter time, 16 with the wind, four into it. There would not be another goal kicked with the breeze for the rest of the game. The Hoers amassed 24 inside 50s in the final quarter, the most of either team in a single quarter over the course of the match. They kicked six behinds.

McDonald’s men played the percentages, employing long kicks down the grandstand wing and making use of the ‘dead’ right half-forward flank into which the breeze directed the Sherrin. Ts defender Ben Littlefield (14 disposals and eight rebound 50s for the quarter) drove the ball time and time again from the last line, as Lachie Mulcahy, Charlie Beasley and Tom Ferrier won or halved aerial contests.

It was disciplined, committed football, delaying a final quarter goal until the 20-minute mark – and to the elation of the Ts faithful, it came from the boot of Hugh Beasley and established a 19-point Old Trinity lead. The work had been done – Beasley’s goal was the only one of the last quarter. 12.12 (84) to 9.13 (67) were the final scores at Cramer Street, the Ts back up to William Buck Premier after being relegated after a three-win 2022. Not since 2009 has Old Ivanhoe featured in the VAFA’s top flight.

For the third time this year, it’s an Old Trinity win over Old Ivanhoe – those wins coming by 37 points (in Round Nine), 12 points (in Round 17) and now by 17 points. Only Old Camberwell (by 11 points in Round Five) and Old Geelong (by seven points in Round 16) have also been able to defeat the Hoers this season.

WHAT THEY SAID

Old Trinity coach Donald McDonald

On being the first side up to William Buck Premier, and into a Grand Final

“You’ve got to just worry about the Grand Final. I know last year, playing in the preliminary final, we were playing for a spot in A Grade – I was thinking more along those lines than anything else. When we didn’t achieve that goal, we had to go back and reset. I think B Grade’s been tough again this year, the level of competition – so to finish top two and then to beat a really good Old Ivanhoe side on the weekend is fantastic.

“It’s given us the opportunity to get up to A Grade – in the short term, it’s just all about competing as well as we can in the Grand Final.”

On the rundown of the game against Old Ivanhoe

“It’s always funny with the wind – you can kick 1.10, and kick yourselves out of it. I think we kicked 4.4, they got one (goal) into it. I thought maybe we needed to get a bit more scoreboard pressure than we did in that first quarter, and then in the second quarter I thought they were red-hot. Their pressure in particular was spot on, they played really well. At half time, I thought, ‘geez, we’re in a bit of trouble here.’”

The third quarter was good – they still kicked goals into the wind, which was pretty significant. They missed a couple of chances in that last quarter, but I think our guys were fantastic, to hold them out like they did. Some of our defenders were amazing, the way they stood up was just awesome to see. It was pretty symbolic of the year, really – we’re been in situations where we’ve been right in a game where it’s up for grabs, and we’ve found enough to get our noses in front when it mattered.

“Collectively, as a group, the side did the job – I don’t know if I could single any individual out. I thought the whole lot of them were committed to it. As a back six they were terrific

Old Ivanhoe coach Jarrod Gieschen

On the last quarter

“The last term was disappointing. We had 24 inside 50s to their six, and could only manage six points. We obviously didn’t use the footy as well as we did in that second quarter, and we were able to kick six goals. 

“Credit to Trinity, they defended the ground really well and kept it on that defensive side, and protected the lead exceptionally well. They’ve got a really good, mature team that was able to execute really well in that last quarter, and it was really disappointing for us to get a run on like we’re capable of doing – but we learn from it, and we move on.”

On young gun Charlie Naish

“He’s definitely got all the attributes you’d want from a footballer, and he has the ability to change the game in bursts. We rely on Charlie sometimes for energy, and he certainly a couple of times sparked the boys … in that last quarter he was jumping at everything, but just couldn’t get one to stick. He certainly stood up – he’s only 20, Charlie, so to see a young player stand up like that on a big day was really pleasing.

On what he’s expecting from Caulfield Grammarians 

“They’ve got talent across every line. They play for each other, and they’ve been in brilliant form. I thought they handled the conditions exceptionally well … I think we both will be expecting another windy day at Preston. Now that we know what we’re up against, I’m sure both teams will play a bit differently this week.

“From our perspective, we’ve just got to bring that pressure that we brought against Old Trinity for three quarters, because it was pretty impressive, the way we were able to execute. There were a lot of positives about the game at the weekend, so we’ll focus on that too.”

Caulfield Grammarians v Old Carey

To decide Old Ivanhoe’s opponent in the preliminary final, Caulfield Grammarians took on Old Carey in the first semi final, once again at Preston City Oval, on Sunday afternoon. As fiercely as the wind blew on Saturday, it was far meaner and far more unsparing on Sunday, once again blowing to the Bruce Street End of the ground and frequently ensnaring a perfectly reasonable drop punt sent along the grandstand wing and ripping it out of bounds on the full, and then bouncing off towards the Upfield Line.

The lesson was straightforward for Paul Satterley’s Fields and Luke Giles’ Panthers – play contest-to-contest down the grandstand side without the breeze and do anything but with it. Old Carey had the first usage of the gale and chalked up 22 inside 50s to nine but found it difficult to keep the ball from hurtling into the ‘dead pocket,’ which conversely suited the Fields just fine.

Bede Waters opened the Panthers’ account at the nine-minute mark, rewarding his side after an extended stint inside 50 with a quick snap through the centremost uprights, greeted by a roar from a very vocal crowd that followed Old Carey’s forwards from end to end. Shots at the face of goal were very tricky to manage – a 50-metre penalty awarded to Tadhg McCarthy made life easier, the Panther kicking the second goal of the term. The mood in the crowd though was that the Fields had avoided early punishment, going goalless but trailing by only 13 points at the first break.

In the quarter time huddle, Fields coach Paul Satterley could be heard imploring his side to avoid the Bermuda Triangle of sorts at right half-forward, but as keenly his players tried to create width, the Panthers responded with tight, contested football to bleed off the breeze’s advantage. The Fields generated 12 scoring shots from 21 inside 50s with the wind but managed only three goals – and critically, the Panthers kicked one of their own, an inch-perfect set shot from Lachy Godden from the left forward pocket. Luke Kelvie found 19 of his 31 disposals for the match in the second term and Isaac Ellwood’s creativity and dash into the gale was first-class – the Panthers going to the break seven points down and with a critical third quarter ahead.

But in the third, the Fields’ victory was secured. One goal was kicked apiece as the Fields’ flankers – Matt Clarkson across half-back and the likes of Jack Atkinson and Tom Williams across half-forward – worked their run and carry into the game. With a +10 inside 50 differential for the quarter, the Panthers kicked 1.6 and found themselves trailing at the final break

With few levers to pull, the Panthers went one-on-one behind the football early in term, opening up space for the Fields’ forwards to work into. Atkinson and Jared Freeman kicked a goal apiece in the opening 10 minutes to establish an insurmountable three-goal lead, before ‘party time’ began in earnest.

After three scrappy and at times turgid quarters of football, the match was rent apart. Caulfield Grammarians had kicked four goals to the three-quarter break: they sent nine through in the final quarter. Tom Williams and Will Vesely added two apiece to the cheers of the healthy travelling crowd, but the loudest applause was saved for defender Ryan Pietsch, who kicked his first goal at any level since 2021 and was duly enveloped in a broiling mess of astonished, delirious teammates.

The 13.18 (96) to 6.10 (46) scoreline hardly tells the story of the game, but Paul Satterley’s team won’t care – they’re through to a preliminary final and will take on Old Ivanhoe for a spot in the Grand Final, and in William Buck Premier for the 2026 season.

It’s the end of the road for Luke Giles and his Panthers, but the 2025 season has been a clear success, and a promise for more for the years to come. Not only has Old Carey earned a second year in Premier B after winning the 2024 Premier C flag, it’s been able to make the leap into a very competitive mix at the top of the table straight away.

WHAT THEY SAID

Paul Satterley – Caulfield Grammarians coach

On his pride in the group

“I always tell them how much I love and enjoy coaching them. I just feel like they’re such a coachable (group), a great bunch of young fellas. I think they’ve shown that they give their all every game. Credit to them, again they showed a lot of maturity in how they went about it. 

“I thought we defended super well against what was probably an eight-to-ten goal breeze, crazy conditions – even to kick a goal into it in the third was pretty telling.”

On his half-forward line

“The likes of Tommy Williams, Jack Atkinson, Connor Cooke – he’s been a star all year – the three of them in particular, I think their speed was quite telling, not only when they had it offensively but their pressure. 

“We looked threatening, even when we were kicking into the breeze, I thought our leg speed was an advantage we had over them when we got it forward of centre.”

On Ryan Pietsch’s goal

“I always reckon it’s a great reflection on when there’s a bit of care in the group, when they’ve got acute awareness of a teammate that’s never kicked a goal … when you’ve got that sort of awareness, it’s reflective of the team-oriented group you’ve got. I think his teammates enjoyed it more than he did.”

On Old Ivanhoe

“We played them in Round One, and they really whacked us that day. We played them in Round 10 at home, I think we led at three quarter time. We were pretty undermanned that day, I thought we competed super hard and got within 20 points. Billy Murphy got a hold of us, he kicked two really good goals late in the game that probably iced it for them, and Patrick Naish was allowed to run around and have 46 disposals.

“This time around, we’ve won eight of the last nine … I don’t think we could be better positioned. I think all of the pressure’s on them – they’ve pretty much held first or second position for the entire year. We’re excited about taking them on. Win, lose or draw, they’ll know they’ve played a game of footy.”

Luke Giles – Old Carey coach

On the loss 

“The lead obviously blew out late – we evened up in front of the ball knowing that we had to kick three or four goals. It probably blew up in our face a little bit, but ultimately didn’t really matter a whole heap. We went into the weekend … (knowing) we were never going to be defined by whether we won or lost. It wasn’t necessarily a free swing, but our season had been given a tick already. 

“For us, we don’t walk away feeling like that’s a moment we’ve built up and failed in … we walk away knowing that they’re probably 20% ahead of where we are, so there’s no confusion on where we sit in the pecking order.

I’m happy for ‘Satts’ (Paul Satterley) and Caulfield – they’re a likeable side. ‘Satts’ has done a really good job with them from where they were last year to this year.

On the off-season, and what might be next

“We know what we look like in the back half of the ground … in front of the ball, we look good, but we’ve got a little bit of work to do. Another tall would be great, but we know we’re close.

“As frustrating as getting beat in a final is, one side ends up winning the premiership. For every other team, you’ve got to ask yourself, ‘are you better off than you were in Round One in the home-and-away season?’ That’s what you have to gauge it off. We know that we’re in a much better position than what we were in March.

“We’re proud that we were able to go up (from Premier C) and do something that’s unusual, to come up and play in a final. I’m sure over the next couple of days, the boys will start to see it a bit more clearly, what they’ve been able to do, and be proud of what they’ve done.”

Next week, it’s back to Preston City Oval on Saturday afternoon. The Hoers and Fields will fight for the right to take on Old Trinity from 2:30pm, with tickets available at the gate.