Old Brighton claims the ‘Clash of the Champions’ over Fremantle CBC

A new tradition may have been born as the VAFA’s reigning Under 19 Premier champions Old Brighton hosted Perth Football League’s Colts champions Fremantle CBC in an entertaining, high-quality one-off contest at Seaford on Friday night.

WATCH THE REPLAY: Clash of the Champions 2026

The Tonners won the toss and kicked with the breeze, rocketing out of the blocks to slam on 5 goals in the first 11 minutes as Freo CBC battled to pick up the tempo, intensity and style of the game early, while Old Brighton punished them on turnover.

“A number of these guys had never played together before, and we made a really fast start, capitalising on a decent breeze,” said Old Brighton coach, Travis O’Donohue.

“The boys just took too long to wake up,” said CBC coach David Larsen.

“We took far too long to get on pace with the game’s speed, struggled with clearances, and didn’t get any benefit from moving the ball on the outside. During that period, Old Brighton capitalised on every scoring opportunity they had.”

The visitors began to settle into the contest after Darcy O’Keeffe snapped truly at the 14-minute mark for Freo’s opening goal, and general play began to even up late in the term as Freo started to earn their share of possession.

Super-impressive Old Brighton ruck Josh Carr – who provided a spark for the Tonners all night – snapped a brilliant goal out of the ruck with just seconds remaining in the opening term, sending the VAFA champs to the first break with an impressive 36-point lead – 7.2 (44) to 1.2 (8).

Old Brighton coach Travis O’Donohue asked his players to control the football with short, angled kicks into the breeze, while Dave Larsen implored Freo CBC to step into the pace of the game, and generate more of the run-and-carry style that is typically their strength.

Freo CBC heeded Larsen’s words and exploded into action with a goal from the opening centre clearance of the second term, after forcing a turnover and chaining together a string of handballs that released the dangerous Zac Spark into an open goal in the first 30 seconds.

Suddenly, the game began to open up as CBC changed angles, backed themselves to keep the ball moving and started looking dangerous on offensive transition as momentum shifted to the visitors, who successfully pinned Old Brighton in their own back half for extended periods.

“The boys started to play a bit cleaner,” Larsen noted, as his team started taking control of the game.

The Tonners’ cause wasn’t helped by the loss of young gun Luca Robinson, who departed the game with a suspected subluxation of his right shoulder, as the visitors continued to control territory and repeatedly peppered away at goal without capitalising.

Old Brighton’s defence was working overtime to maintain the pressure and hold back the tide.

The scoreboard finally started to tick over 17 minutes in when Archie Tames stuck a tackle out of the ruck contest, then received a 50-metre penalty that took him all the way to the goal-line for CBC’s third goal as the tide continued to turn.

Alex Redmile snapped a brilliant left-foot goal from the pocket two minutes later, and CBC had more than halved their quarter-time deficit back to 17 points, growing in confidence by the minute.

The Tonners managed to hang on for the rest of the term and headed to the major break with a 3-goal advantage, 7.5 (47) to 4.5 (29) – Old Brighton held goalless for the term, while CBC added 3.3.

“Fremantle definitely responded in the second quarter and got back into the game with some really smart ball use,” said O’Donohue.

The visitor resurgence continued into the third term, with goals to Redmile (2:32 into the quarter), Darcy O’Keeffe (7:20) and Zac Spark (10:30) – set up by a blistering run through the middle from Luke Herbet – putting CBC in front for the first time.

Three goals in 8 minutes (and 6 unanswered since quarter time) had turned the game on its head.

“Fremantle got on top after half time, and they deserved to lead midway through the third,” O’Donohue admitted. “Some of our boys probably discovered that they’re not as fit as they’d like to be, and that’s a great lesson for next pre-season.”

“I think we controlled the game for the better part of the middle two quarters until we got our nose in front,” said Larsen. “That woke up the Old Brighton boys, and they hit the scoreboard with a couple in a row quickly.”

The Tonners’ response reinforced why this program has won the last two Under 19 premier titles. Rather than retreat further into their shells, the reigning champs were sparked into action, driven by the straight-ahead leadership of Andrew Langworthy, who threw himself into every contest with reckless abandon.

The powerhouse #40 took the advantage from a trip close to goal and put the Tonners back in front 90 seconds after conceding the lead, then a minute later, Harvey O’Sullivan finished off a good team build-up by dribbling it through on the goal-line to re-establish a handy buffer.

And when Ryder Trim ran onto Josh Carr’s big fist out of the ruck to snap through a tidy goal, Old Brighton had seized back momentum with 3 goals in 3-and-a-half minutes to open up a 17-point lead approaching time-on in the third term.

Fletcher Hall then got on the end of a handball chain to slot a nice running goal with 10 seconds left in the quarter, giving Old Brighton a handy 22-point lead at the final change after a scintillating 12 minutes of brilliant, intense team football that resulted in 4 quick goals.

“It was a really good challenge for us, and I was really impressed with how our players responded, and the composure they showed to finish the game off,” said a pleased O’Donohue.

The Tonners went on with the job in the final quarter, booting 4.3 to 1.5 – CBC showing some positives, but unable to finish their work around goal and narrow the margin.

In the end, it was Old Brighton posting a 38-point win: 15.9 (99) to 8.13 (61), but the difference in scoring shots (24 to 21) telling a more accurate tale of just how close the game was in general play.

“Late in the game, we started showing some signs of how we want to be playing our footy in 2026. While finishing with 1.5 was disappointing, we know that we can get the ball and our movement on our terms against quality opposition,” said Larsen.

“Overall, I think the team has taken some great experiences away from the trip, and we hope it will galvanise them even more, heading into the season and our premiership defence.”

“We as a club really enjoyed the experience,” said O’Donohue.

“The highlight for me was going into the Fremantle change rooms after the game and seeing our players share a drink and a laugh with the opposition players and coaches. We are really grateful for the opportunity to play them, and hopefully this game is something that can continue into the future.”

OLD BRIGHTON 7.2 (44) 7.5 (47) 11.6 (72) 15.9 (99)

FREMANTLE CBC 1.2 (8) 4.5 (29) 7.8 (50) 8.13 (61)

GOALS:

OLD BRIGHTON – O’Sullivan 3, Trim 3, Langworthy 2; 1- Arnold, Lewis, McMullen, Murphy, Carr, Robinson, Hall.

FREMANTLE CBC – Spark 3, Redmile 2, O’Keeffe 2, Tames 1.

BEST:

OLD BRIGHTON – Josh Carr, Harvey Allan, Andrew Langworthy, Harvey O’Sullivan, Ollie Entwistle, Ben McDougall.

FREMANTLE CBC – Zac Spark, Adam Osbourne, Luke Herbet, Darcy O’Keeffe, Alex Redmile, Logan Finlayson.

WATCH THE REPLAY: Clash of the Champions 2026