Pirates book their grand final spot with a commanding victory

Ormond’s opponent for the Division 1 Men’s Grand Final has been decided, with Old Peninsula convincingly defeating Kew by 56 points and ending the Bears season.

Going into this match, there wasn’t a whole lot splitting these two sides on previous form. Old Peninsula finished the home-and-away season in 2nd with 14 wins, 4 losses and a percentage of 158.03%. Kew weren’t far behind, finishing in 3rd spot with 12 wins, 6 losses and 131.23%.

The two occasions these sides met during the home-and-away season told vastly different stories. In Round 9, Kew was the big winner (55 – 131), whilst in Round 18 it was Old Peninsula who banked the big win (50 – 129). This preliminary final match-up was bound to find a victor in the set of three.

There were many factors and questions to consider surrounding this game. Firstly, this final was to be played at the Box Hill City Oval, meaning no side had a home ground advantage. Secondly, the weather conditions were going to be influential given there was plenty of rain and strong wind lurking around on game-day on Sunday. Could this favour Old Peninsula whose home ground is near Port Phillip Bay and might be more accustomed to these conditions?

Thirdly, and pertinently, was team structure and line-ups. Since their last encounter at Victoria Park two weeks ago, both sides had some changes to their 22. Old Peninsula captain George Fletcher made his return after being absent from that clash, having not played since Round 13. Kew similarly had multiple changes from the side that last played the Pirates.

The siren sounded at 2:00pm and the first quarter was underway.

Both sides found a plethora of scoring opportunities in the first quarter. Kew drew first blood with a goal five minutes into the game before Old Peninsula responded with William Crowder finding luck in front of goal. That chain of events repeated with both sides managing to get the footy inside 50 and each record another goal, with just one point separating the two sides halfway through the first.

What followed was a number of behinds before a late goal to Old Peninsula in the dying stages gave the Pirates a valuable 5-point lead at quarter-time. On a day with weather conditions such as this, every point is crucial – a 5-point margin cannot be underrated.

QT: Old Peninsula 3.3.21 leads Kew 2.4.16

The pace of the game changed in the second quarter as Old Peninsula broke away and did not give Kew much of a look in.

The Pirates kicked four unanswered goals to dominate the play in this term and continue to build their lead. Despite Kew’s efforts to remain competitive, they were outplayed by the Pirates

and would be thankful their deficit at half-time was not larger given the Pirates recorded seven behinds this quarter.

HT: Old Peninsula 8.10.58 leads Kew 3.6.24

Two early goals to Big V representative player Bailey Payze got the Pirates crowd excited as their lead ballooned to a massive 46 points.

The Bears were not going to go down without a fight, and to their credit, lifted throughout this third quarter and had many more periods of success.

Much like the second quarter, the middle stages of the third quarter saw team defences prevail with no goals scored for about ten minutes.

Kew kicked three consecutive goals to bring the margin back to a workable 26 points, but the Pirates quickly responded with two late goals of their own. Going into the final change, Kew trailed by 30 points. Difficult, but not impossible.

3QT: Old Peninsula 12.10.82 leads Kew 7.10.52

Both teams broke from their huddles, and it was time for the fourth quarter. The ultimate prize was waiting for the winner – a ticket to the Grand Final, along with promotion to Premier C in 2026. With a five-goal buffer, Old Peninsula would’ve fancied their chances of holding on but would’ve been well aware that Kew would give this their best crack.

The Pirates got the first goal of the term thanks to Bailey Payze before the game hit somewhat of a stalemate by way of scoring. However, once the Pirates found the goals at the thirteen-minute mark, they only lifted from there, and followed up with another two majors to take their lead to an insurmountable 56 points.

Whilst Kew managed one more goal, the damage had been done as the Pirates cruised home to the finish line to book their spot in the Grand Final, along with promotion to Premier C next year, thanks to their commanding 56-point victory.

FT: Old Peninsula 17.13.115 defeated Kew 8.11.59

William Crowder and Bailey Payze, two of the Pirates most consistent performers, both starred with four goals each, whilst Max Waters, Lachie James and Michael Gledden were amongst the best performers for Kew.

A disappointing end to the season for Kew to go out by such a big margin, however all in all, the Bears would be delighted at how well they performed this season and know that they have what it takes to be a serious challenger once again in 2026.

After all has been said and done, it’s fair to say that the two most worthy sides have qualified for this year’s Division 1 Men’s Grand Final. Ormond have been undefeated all season whilst Old Peninsula dropped just four games during the home-and-away season. Both sides have shown an abundance of skill execution, talent, confidence and promise, which will hold them in good stead for the Grand Final.

Will Ormond complete the fairytale and tick the last box on a perfect season? Or will the match-hardened Old Peninsula, having gone the long way to the Grand Final, upset Ormond hearts and rise to the top on the day?

Their previous encounters say it all…

R4: Ormond won by 12 pts
R12: Ormond won by 4 pts
FR1: Ormond won by 17 pts

From their three matchups this season, Ormond’s average winning margin was 11 points.

This promises to be a thriller!