William Buck Premier Men’s 2026 Season Preview – PART 2

The 2026 William Buck Premier Men’s season kicks off this Saturday, and promises to be another gripping year of top-quality elite suburban football.

In Part 2 of our Season Preview, we take a closer look at the Top 5 teams from 2025 as they get set for Round 1:

OLD HAILEYBURY (5^th: 9-9)

The Bloods were one of the biggest stories of the 2025 season as they roared back into William Buck Premier Men’s off the back of their 2024 Premier B flag.

It was a quality response to their agonising relegation at the end of 2023, when they lost 3 of their last 4 to fall just 1.6% short of staying in the top flight after 12 years of fighting to get there.

So when Daniel Ward’s team returned in 2025, they were better equipped and made an immediate statement in their return match, belting Collegians in the opening round by 74 points.

Losses to Old Brighton and Old Xavs followed, but they responded by peeling off 6 straight wins to hit the halfway mark in third position, just one game off top spot and looking like potential flag contenders.

However, a heartbreaking 1-point loss to league leaders Old Brighton in Round 10 was followed by a 39-point loss to Old Scotch, and suddenly the Bloods were feeling the pinch.

They would drop 7 of their last 9, including a final-round ‘virtual elimination final’ against the Cardinals, which saw Old Haileybury displaced from the Top 4 on percentage for the first time since Round 5.

Premiership coach Daniel Ward departed to take up a wonderful opportunity as senior coach of the newly-standalone Sandringham Zebras in the VFL, which opened the door for Guy Martyn to return to top-flight coaching.

A 2-time VAFA premiership coach (with Hampton Rovers in Premier C in 2013, then with St Kevin’s in Premier Men’s in 2018), Guy was in charge at Uni Blues before spending a year with Glen Eira/Old McKinnon in 2025.

He returns to Premier Men’s to lead a team with the potential to launch a September assault.

“Our win-loss record in the first half of last year, compared to the second half tells the story,” says Martyn.

“Top-end talent and our best team is very good, but our depth is an issue. It’s something we’re acutely aware of and trying to fix, but you can’t just inject depth. It’s something that is built over time, and it’s a real focus of mine and the club’s this year and beyond.”

Martyn and his recruiting team have been active over the summer, and attracted some handy inclusions.

“Nick Mavropoulos is a midfielder who made the Premier C Team of the Year. He turns 21 and is continuing to improve.

“Joel Chilcott is another turning 21 and on the rise. He won Glen Eira’s Best & Fairest last year as a half-forward who is strong in the contest and will pinch-hit in the midfield.

“Beau O’Neil is another turning 21, from Wodonga. He’s a third tall/intercept defender type who can play on anyone as he reads the play very well.

“Jasper Russell is second-year out of school and on Casey’s VFL list. He’s an elite runner and ball user off half back. Injury will delay his start to the season by a couple of weeks.

“And Keegan Mountford will also have a delayed start due to injury. Straight out of Haileybury College, he was the school’s leading goalkicker last season.”

INS: Nick Mavropoulos, Joel Chilcott, Beau O’Neil, Jasper Russell, Keegan Mountford

OUTS: Mattias Rose (did his ACL in first 5 mins of first practice match, so will miss the season)

Guy has spent the summer watching, learning and familiarising himself with his new group.

“Being my first year at the club, I needed to spend that time getting to know the players, and their strengths and weaknesses, before worrying about what to develop.

“We’re a young side on the improve, but we have to play in a way that suits our list and available personnel. Part of that is identifying and developing players that add to the depth of our squad, knowing they will be relied upon throughout the season.

“We want to be pushing for Top 4 after finishing fifth last year. It’s been hard to go past the ‘Big Four’ of Old Brighton, SKOB, Xavs and Scotch the last couple of years, given their depth of talent as much as their top-end talent.

“Given the evenness of the competition though, there won’t be much between fighting for Top 4 and avoiding relegation. Even last year, with just a few games to go, Scotch was in the relegation zone, yet ended up making a Grand Final.

“And that’s why this is a fantastic competition.”

Old Haileybury open their campaign with matches against Uni Blacks (Home) and Caulfield Grammarians (Away), before testing themselves against last year’s Grand Finalists – Old Brighton (R3) and Old Scotch (R4).

Can they rediscover the wave of irresistible momentum they surfed through the first half of last season? If so, the Big 4 might be about to become a Big 5.

ST KEVIN’S (4^th: finished 3rd (12-6), then lost to Old Scotch by 23pts in 1st Semi).

A model of consistency, St Kevin’s have played in 7 consecutive William Buck Premier Men’s finals series, including 5 straight Grand Finals from 2017-23.

2025 delivered an unusually inconsistent first half of the season from SKOB, who hit the halfway mark in touch with the leaders at 5-4, but upon closer inspection, their 4 losses were by just 14, 7, 12 & 6 points.

Be that as it may, it left them with some work to do in order to continue their September streak, and Anthony Lynch’s team timed their run with their usual perfection, stringing together a 7-game winning streak from Rounds 11 to 17, ensuring they would again feature in the finals.

They arrived at the Snake Pit in Round 18 unable to move up or down from third position, and went in with a whopping 13 changes to the line-up, which was ultimately run over by the Snowdogs in the second half.

SKOB then faced an in-form Cardinals in the First Semi Final, but just couldn’t find their best, held to just 4 goals in the opening 3 quarters to ultimately end their season with a 23-point loss.

A summer refresh and reset has St Kevin’s ready and raring to go once again in 2026, with their 2022 premiership coach Anthony ‘Plugger’ Lynch crystal clear on their next steps to return to flag contention.

“Our fundamentals were not up to the standard required under the heat of the finals stage last year, and we took that personally on review and got to work on it.

“Our gameplan required evolution to be able to compete on the biggest stage in September, so we got to work on that also.

“We’ve had a fair bit of positional change, and an offensive focus, with players put in positions that help us set up to win and attack more. Some of our positional changes and strategy focuses set us up to be more dangerous and harder to defend as well.

“I like the internal growth of our 21-22 year-olds. There are 7 or 8 of them who will become Best 22 players very quickly (if they’re not already). That’s a third of our team, so that really excites me. I think they’re all capable of having breakout years, and if they do it as a group, we’ll be a better team than we have been in recent years.”

Former Hawthorn & Richmond AFL player Jacob Koschitzke headlines the new arrivals, along with the captain of St Kevin’s First 18 last season, Doug Kerr – who also spent time with Collingwood’s VFL program. St Bede’s/Mentone Tigers star Jack Behnk has made the leap from Premier C to Premier Men’s, and will be one to watch.

They are some big names to replace some big names, with a quartet of core senior players departing, including star goalkicker Patty Kerr and gun inside midfielder Luke Winter.

INS: Jacob Koschitzke (Richmond AFL), Doug Kerr (St Kevin’s/Oakleigh Chargers/Coll VFL), Jack Behnk (St Bede’s/Mentone Tigers), Liam McKenna (North Heidelberg).

OUTS: Sam Critchley, Pat Kerr, Sam Barnett, Luke Winter.

What a start for SKOB in 2026, facing two other 2025 finalists first up: Old Xavs (Home) and Old Brighton (Away) in what promises to be a revealing opening fortnight.

OLD XAVERIANS (3rd; finished H&A 2nd: 15-3; lost 2SF Old Brighton 33pts & PF Old Scotch 1pt)

The Red & Black Mafia rediscovered that familiar feeling in 2025, as their team returned to the pointy end of the Premier Men’s competition.

The 14-time top-flight champions haven’t won a Premier Men’s flag since 2016 – an unthinkable drought when compared to the 8 flags they won in the first 16 years of the century.

But they made significant strides in 2025, and begin the 2026 campaign as a popular pick to be squarely in the mix when the whips are cracking in September.

They won 12 of their first 14 matches last season, with the only blips on the radar coming in Round 2 (SKOB by 3pts) and eventual premiers Old Brighton in Round 6 by 61pts.

They wouldn’t lose again until they faced the Tonners once more in Round 15 at Brighton Beach, falling 33 points short.

That loss would see them finish one game back in second spot at 15-3, and they would taste another 33-point defeat at the hands of Old Brighton on Second Semi Final Day, before falling literally one kick short of their first Grand Final in 9 years, when Angus Jones slotted his fifth goal for the Cardinals with the final kick of an all-time classic Preliminary Final.

Coach Dan Donati views that painful chapter as another step on his team’s path to the top.

“We’ve taken a lot away from 2025. Whilst it ended in somewhat brutal fashion, the experience of completing a really successful home & away season, then playing in a couple of super tough finals, delivered lots of positives and plenty of learnings to take into 2026.

“We’ve been able to keep the group together, so no key outs to speak of other than Denis Symeopoulos, who retires after a great VAFA career.

“Nick Guiney and Jed Fennelly have committed full-time after stints in the VFL, while former under-19s star Kye Walford returns after a brief stint chasing a punting career in the US. We’ll also welcome back a number of players from injury who weren’t able to play late last season.”

INS: Nick Guiney, Jed Fennelly, Kye Walford (Lamar University)

OUTS: Denis Symeopoulos (retired)

“It was our third pre-season together, and we’ve really just had a focus on improving and getting better. The boys are fit, they’re testing one another, and have been preparing for another tough VAFA season in the top flight of the competition.

“It’s always very even, and I’ve no doubt sides will be looking to improve on last year. And there are a couple of teams that have played in the last two GFs, in Old Brighton and Old Scotch, that are going to take some catching.

“We have high expectations of ourselves as a group, and hope to be able to compete well every week, but most importantly, be there towards the end when it matters most.”

Old Xavs will jump straight into the lion’s mouth with an opening round blockbuster against fellow 2025 finalist St Kevin’s at TH King, before hosting Premier B champions Old Trinity in Round 2.

All eyes will then be on the Preliminary Final rematch in Round 3, as Xavs visit the Cardinals at Camberwell. What a game that promises to be, and that pair will meet for a second time in the final round.

In fact, Xavs will face a tricky run home, facing all 5 of last year’s other Top 6 teams in the final 5 rounds.

OLD SCOTCH (2nd; Finished H&A 4th (9-9), d. SKOB 23pts 1SF; d. Old Xavs 1pt PF; lost GF to Old Brighton 25pts)

Coming off the back of their drought-breaking 2024 Premier Men’s flag, Old Scotch endured a white-knuckle rollercoaster ride throughout 2025 that defied the odds and fell just one step short of their first back-to-back top-flight premierships in 91 years.

The Cardinals’ premiership defence looked shaky after 4 straight losses saw them slump to a 6-9 record after Round 15, some 3 games plus 14% outside the Top 4 with just 3 games to play. It would take nothing short of a footballing miracle for the Cards to make it into September.

Enter the footballing miracle.

They would win their last 3 matches, while Old Haileybury and Uni Blacks would both lose their last 3, allowing Old Scotch to sneak into September via a 6-goal ‘virtual Elimination Final’ win over the Bloods in the final round.

But Mark Gnatt’s team wasn’t done there.

With an influx of returning VFL stars, the Cards were suddenly a problem for every other premiership contender.

They comfortably accounted for SKOB in the First Semi Final, and then somehow found a way past Old Xavs in one of the great VAFA Preliminary Finals – a 28-goal classic that was tied at quarter time, and had 1-point margins at both half-time and three-quarter time, before ultimately being decided with the last kick of the day.

11 points down at the 28-minute mark of the final term, the Cards displayed the resilient spirit that had effectively seen them survive 5 consecutive cut-throat matches, coming up with 2 goals in the final 4 minutes to steal one of their greatest victories.

And while they were ultimately overpowered by Old Brighton on Grand Final Day, the Cardinals lost no admirers in 2025, scrapping desperately week after week to keep their dream alive.

Now they focus on regaining their throne, and coach Mark Gnatt is refreshed and ready for the fight.

“Last year, we showed that our best is still good enough. We did very well to manage our list, and this created opportunities for a number of younger players to obtain senior experience. All up, we had 46 players play senior footy, which will hold us in good stead for 2026 and beyond.

“We’ve had a changing of the guard in our leadership space. Andy Jelbart has stepped down as skipper, and Charlie Cormack is our new Captain. He will be supported by Will Clark, Will Townsend, Jack Brown and Henry Brown as vice-captains.

“Plus, we have a number of new younger players in the mix, which is exciting for our blend of experience and brand of footy.”

INS: Dane Harvey (Fitzroy/Carlton VFL), Quinn Spencer, Caleb Nancarrow, Ben Fergusson, Nick Baring

OUTS: Sam Grant (Port Melbourne/Old Carey), Jack Lipscombe (Albury), Ben Hays (Retired)

“We expect it will be another competitive season for all 10 teams in the comp. We’ll focus on the areas that we can control, and ensure that we are consistently hard to play against.”

The Cardinals open their campaign against the promoted Caulfield Grammarians (home), then the always tricky St Bernard’s (away).

Then comes an even more testing 4-week block: the Round 3 blockbuster against Xavs at Camberwell, followed by Old Haileybury (A), Old Brighton (H) and St Kevin’s (A).

OLD BRIGHTON (Premiers 2025: Minor premiers (16-2), d. Old Xavs 33pts 2SF, d. Old Scotch 25pts GF)

Old Brighton’s Premier Men’s flag capped the perfect year for the Tonners after their Premier Women and Under 19s Premier teams also saluted on Grand Final Day.

It had been a 68-year odyssey for Old Brighton, and after losing two Grand Finals in the previous 3 seasons, it delivered a heady combination of ecstasy and relief.

Read more about Old Brighton’s 2025 in their FLAG FEATURE here

The Tonners entered 2025 as popular premiership favourites, then went 16-2 to collect the minor premiership by a game over Old Xavs, after defeating the Bloods by 33 points in Round 15.

Successfully navigating the famed ‘Tullamarine Flu’ as a group of players departed for Europe mid-season, they finished their home & away campaign strongly, hitting September having won 6 on the trot.

They had to fight to get past Old Xavs on Second Semi Final Day. Leading by a single point at the last change, they powered away with 6 goals to 1 in the final term to qualify for another Grand Final.

And after Old Scotch’s Preliminary Final Houdini act, they would have to get over the same team that crushed their premiership dream 12 months earlier on Grand Final Day.

But get over them, they did. Held goalless into the breeze in the opening term, they successfully restricted the Cardinals to a single goal in the first half to set up their 25-point win.

It was the exclamation point on an outstanding campaign worthy of the club’s first top-flight premiership.

And now their focus shifts to defending their crown.

Coach Marcel Bruin was suitably satisfied with his team’s ability to shed previous disappointments and channel their energy into the continuous improvement required to take that final step up to the premiership podium.

“We were able to create another opportunity to play finals off the back of having improved from 2024. Our defence got a little better, and we had a focus on generating more scoring opportunities, particularly out of slow play.

“We were able to weather some personnel challenges through the middle part of the year, and then generate strong momentum towards the end of the year and beginning of finals. 

“The main development focus for our group across the pre-season and into the early stages of 2026 has been integrating the group of players from our successful U19 program, and helping those that haven’t yet had a taste of senior football to adapt as quickly as possible.

“We’re conscious that opposition teams will be looking at ways to beat us, so we’re continuing to refine how we play with and without the ball. We have a strong focus on contest within our training, but have spent time working on our ball movement, hoping to stay ahead of the different concepts opposition defences will look to employ against us.

“As always, we expect to be competitive and difficult to play against. Based on the fixture and the way the season is structured, we want to capitalise on the first block of games and then generate momentum through the back half of the season.

“Like everyone else, we want another opportunity to play finals, but we’re aware that we have to continue to develop and evolve to create that.”

INS: Kaine Baldwin (Port Melbourne VFL), a host of Under 19s premiership players

OUTS: Fraser Gregson, Alfie Jarnestrom, Angus Edgar, Kai Dimattina, Will Lewis, Tom Blamires

The Tonners will begin season 2026 having completed two perfect seasons at home – 18 straight victories at Fortress Brighton stretching back to Round 17, 2023.

They will have the opportunity to get their premiership defence off to a strong start if they can continue that winning streak, given they will be at home for 5 of the first 7 rounds, against St Bernard’s (R1), SKOB (R2), Blacks (R4), Old Trinity (R6) and Old Xavs (R7).

Their two road trips in the first two months will be tricky – Old Haileybury (R3), and Old Scotch in a Round 5 Grand Final rematch.

Having made history for their club in 2025, Marcel Bruin and his troops now turn their attention to building on their legacy. Last year’s theme says it all: “The goal is never the end.”

Check out PART 1 of our Season Preview for a closer look at University Blacks, St Bernard’s, University Blues, Old Trinity and Caulfield Grammarians.

VAFA WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 1

SATURDAY APRIL 18:-

St Kevin’s vs Old Xaverians (1.45pm – SEN MATCH OF THE DAY & VAFA TV)           

Old Brighton vs St Bernard’s (1.55pm – Kommunity TV & VAFA TV)       

Old Haileybury vs Uni Blacks (1.55pm – Kommunity TV)     

Old Scotch vs Caulfield Grammarians (1.55pm – VAFA TV)     

University Blues vs Old Trinity (1.55pm – Melbourne Uni Main Oval)