For just the third time this century, we have two teams meeting in back-to-back Premier Men’s Grand Finals.
St Bernard’s and Old Xaverians met in 2002-03, with the Snowdogs winning Part 1, then Xavs turning the tables the following season.
Then, in 2017-18, it was St Kevin’s & Collegians, with SKOB winning two nail-biting classics by 3 and 5 points, respectively.
In 2025, it’s Old Brighton and Old Scotch running it back and there are captivating storylines on both sides.
Old Brighton (17-2) is chasing a piece of history that has slipped through their fingers twice in the past three seasons – their FIRST Premier Men’s premiership – in what will be their fourth A-Grade Grand Final.
In their three previous Grand Final losses, they squandered their chances around goal, finishing with more behinds than goals and were left to rue those missed opportunities.
In 2007, they kicked 10.16 to be well beaten by Old Xavs.
In 2022, they booted 3.6 to fall 22 points shy of St Kevin’s in a low-scoring slog.
Last year, their wasteful first half proved costly against the Cards, when they had 16 shots to 13 in the opening two quarters but kicked 6.10 to 8.5 and trailed by 7 points at the half. In the end, they finished with 27 shots to 25, but fell three goals short of hoisting the cup, kicking 10.17 to Old Scotch’s 14.11.
The Tonners have paid their dues. Have they learnt their lessons?
Earlier this season, they kicked 8.28 against the Cards, including 0.9 in the opening term. The pressure and tension will be unbearable if they start the Grand Final in a similar fashion!
Old Scotch (11-9) is chasing its eleventh Premier Men’s title, having ended a 46-year drought last season.
The Cards know all about Grand Finals slipping through their fingers, given they had lost 6 of their previous 7 premiership deciders over the past 90 years. It made last season’s triumph all the sweeter as they finally seized their opportunity for the first time since 1978.
If they can win it again, they’ll go back-to-back for the first time since their glorious four-in-a-row dynasty of 1931-34.
THE ROAD TO THE GRAND FINAL
Both teams enter on winning runs, full of confidence and belief. But their paths could barely be more different.
Old Brighton finished on top, with a 16-2 record for the second straight season.
Just as they did in 2024, the Tonners then saluted in the Second Semi Final, earning the week’s rest with an express pass to Grand Final Day. Their season could barely have gone smoother.
But Old Scotch had to defy massive odds to get anywhere near September, let alone Grand Final Day.
The Cardinals sat three games (plus 14%) behind the fourth-placed Bloods with just three games to play. No one plays finals from there!
However, the Bloods and Blacks both faltered late, and the Cardinals stormed home to secure a spot in the Final 4 with three critical wins that enabled them to sneak in with a 9-9 record – the fewest wins to make the Premier Men’s Finals in more than 15 years.
They subsequently accounted for SKOB by 23 points in the First Semi Final, before coming from the clouds to pinch an epic Preliminary Final from Xavs by a single point with the final kick of the game last week.
The Cards arrive at Grand Final Day having effectively played five consecutive Elimination Finals!
Can they ride that wave of momentum all the way to another premiership, or will the best team across the course of the entire season cap another stellar campaign with a historic win?
2025 MEETINGS
RD 5: OLD BRIGHTON 8.28 (76) d. OLD SCOTCH 4.7 (31) by 45pts at Brighton Beach Oval
The Tonners reversed last season’s Premier Men’s Grand Final result to remain undefeated in 2025 with an emphatic win over the Cardinals for a 13th straight win at Fortress Brighton.
The margin could have been much greater, with 36 scores to 11 a clearer indication of the Tonners’ dominance.
Skipper Harry Hill was everywhere with 37 disposals (26 Contested, 13 Clearances) and a goal. He was ably supported by Kai Dimattina with 33. Sam Grant worked tirelessly in the ruck to be best for the undermanned Cards, who have dropped their last 3 to sit 8th on the table.
RD 13: OLD BRIGHTON 13.17 (95) d. OLD SCOTCH 8.12 (60) by 35pts at Camberwell
The Cards had their uncontested and intercept games going early, leading by 15 points at the first change, before the visitors started to take control midway through the second term.
The tight contest continued in the third term, with Old Brighton holding a slight edge heading to the last change after kicking 4.5 to 2.3 – Sam Fanning with 2 goals in the quarter for the Tonners, who led by 16 points at three-quarter time.
Their start to the final term was impressive, holding Old Scotch scoreless until the 18-minute mark while booting 3.2 themselves to effectively put the game to bed.
Big V captain Harry Hill was refreshed after the week’s break and was a standout with 30 disposals and 3 goals to collect the SKINS Player of the Day Award, as his team remained alongside Xavs at the top of the table. Brodie Easton racked up 35 touches and 9 Rebound 50s for the Cardinals.
KEYS TO THE GAME
OLD BRIGHTON – Daniel Ward, 2024 Premier B premiership coach
EXECUTION – Marcel Bruin and his coaching staff would be very pleased with their preparation and how smoothly things have gone to date. They don’t need to change too much – just execute their roles from an individual and team perspective. Be reliable, not remarkable!
MIDFIELD DOMINATION – It’s crucial that Felix Flockart, Harry Hill, Tom Fisher & Tom Burnell control the middle of the ground so the Tonners can dominate territory and keep Old Scotch’s defensive group under constant pressure.
BALL USE GOING FORWARD – Not only do they need to play a front-half game, the WAY they go forward is the MOST CRUCIAL aspect of this entire game. Scotch’s strength is their defence and its ability to set up devastating counter-attacks. Charlie Cormack is the best in the entire competition at reading the ball in the air and getting across to help his fellow defenders.
If Old Brighton can lower their eyes going forward and hit up leading targets, that will make Cormack’s aerial ability null and void. Avoid long high bombs Inside 50!
OLD SCOTCH – Hugo Higginbotham, two-time Elsternwick premiership coach
DEFENCE WINS YOU THE CUP – If superstar Cards defender Charlie Cormack and his fellow backs hadn’t been able to repel multiple Xavs entries in the last quarter under immense pressure, the game would’ve been unsalvageable – even so, they conceded 14 goals.
Against a high-scoring Tonners team that finished the home-and-away season with the highest percentage, they’ll have to be just as good – and if they can hold back the tide again when the Tonners are pressing, that will go a long way to securing back-to-back premierships.
THE BATTLE OF THE BIGS – Sam Grant vs Felix Flockart will be THE pivotal contest of the day. Both are elite ruckmen, regularly providing their midfielders with first use of the ball. But it’s their around-the-ground work that could decide this game.
Grant is at his best when he slides behind the footy to rack up intercept marks (often contested in high-pressure situations). But Flockart is just as dangerous drifting forward. Can one get on top of the other inside the Tonners’ Forward 50? If so, it may prove decisive.
DON’T GET BEATEN BY WHAT YOU KNOW – Cardinal forwards James Tarrant & Will Clark are two of the league’s most dangerous. They’ve repeatedly shown they can hit the scoreboard against the best defenders in the competition.
But it was Angus Jones’ 5 goals (after booting 3 in the First Semi) that won Old Scotch the Prelim Final. However, the young gun’s past fortnight will have put him squarely on Marcel Bruin’s whiteboard. He will now be the player the Tonners put the most time & effort into nullifying, so Old Scotch needs to ensure a healthy spread of goalkickers to share the load and kick a winning score.
IT’S NOT OVER ‘TIL IT’S OVER – The Cardinals have played Elimination Finals for the past 5 weeks. One slip along the way and their premiership defence would have been over. Down by 11 points in the dying stages last week, they kept the faith, stuck to their processes and found a way to win.
They need to maintain that belief that the training and execution that has kept them alive week after week is good enough to take them all the way, no matter the situation in the game. Their remarkable resilience might just get them over the line one more time.
LEAD-IN FORM
VAFA MEDIA TIPS
DANIEL WARD – OLD BRIGHTON by 15pts Jock Nelson Medal: Felix FLOCKART
HUGO HIGGINBOTHAM – OLD BRIGHTON by 5pts Jock Nelson Medal: Harry HILL
PADDY GRINDLAY – OLD BRIGHTON by 23pts Jock Nelson Medal: Joey CAMPIGLI
MATTHEW DONALD – OLD SCOTCH by 8pts Jock Nelson Medal: Charlie CORMACK
BROADCAST COVERAGE
WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S GRAND FINAL: OLD BRIGHTON vs OLD SCOTCH
Live coverage from FRIDAY 2pm:-
LIVE STREAM – VAFA.com.au & KOMMUNITY TV
RADIO – SEN app, SEN.com.au & VAFA.com.au
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