William Buck Premier Men’s – Round 1 Preview

The summer sprint sessions are done. The 2k time trials are in the books. The intra-club matches are out of the way, and so are the ‘prackkys’ against other clubs.

It’s finally time for the real stuff to begin!

The William Buck Premier Men’s competition has continued to thrill and delight us in recent seasons, and we are in for another gripping season of top-tier action in 2026.

Let’s look ahead to Round 1:

ST KEVIN’s vs OLD XAVERIANS (TH King Oval – 2pm: VAFA.com.au & SEN app)

Old Xavs leapfrogged over SKOB into third spot last season, ultimately falling a point short of their first Grand Final since 2016, when Old Scotch pipped them on Preliminary Final Day.

Xavs were the big improvers at the top end of the table, finishing the home & away season in 2nd spot, and looked every bit a premiership contender throughout. They are a popular pre-season prediction to continue their upward trajectory and make it all the way to the premiership decider this season.

For SKOB, their seventh consecutive finals series was secured by a 7-game winning streak from Rounds 11 to 17. But it came to an abrupt end at Semi-Final weekend – their earliest exit in a decade.

That is a remarkable statistic and speaks volumes about the incredibly consistent program they have built in the modern era.

So most expect that this Round 1 clash could well be replicated come September.

SKOB had held Xavs’ measure for years, with 6 consecutive wins, including their first meeting in Round 2 at TH King last year.

But Xavs snapped their losing streak to St Kevin’s by powering away in the final quarter of their Round 10 clash to post their first win over SKOB since 2022. Woodrow Medallist Marcus Stavrou racked up 39 disposals, 7 clearances and 9 Inside 50s that day.

This promises to be a fantastic early-season look at two contenders head-to-head.

SKOB have spent the summer improving their fitness and fundamentals, with coach Anthony ‘Plugger’ Lynch excited about his crop of youngsters that are set to revitalise his line-up this season.

“”I like the internal growth of our 21-22 year-olds,” said Lynch.

“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.”

Old Xaverians only lost 4 games last season. Three of those were to eventual premiers Old Brighton. The other? To St Kevin’s in a 3-point Round 2 thriller.

Are we in for another early nailbiter at TH King? Let’s hope so, because we’ll have it covered from every angle for you!

WATCH the LIVE STREAM on VAFA.com.au from 1.45pm Saturday, or LISTEN to our award-winning VAFA SEN Match of the Day radio coverage on the SEN app.

OLD BRIGHTON vs ST BERNARD’S (Brighton Beach Oval – 2pm: Kommunity TV & VAFA.com.au)

Old Brighton finally rose to the premiership dais and hoisted the Premier Men’s cup for the first time in their 68-year VAFA history.

The Tonners have made 3 of the past 4 Grand Finals, but coach Marcel Bruin and his team are just getting started. As their theme stated throughout 2025, ‘the goal is never the end.’

Their focus has shifted to defending their crown and building upon their legacy, and that begins with defending Fortress Brighton from a pack of marauding Snowdogs in the opening round.

Brighton Beach Oval has been impenetrable since Round 17 of 2023, with the Tonners enjoying two perfect seasons at home in 2024 and 2025 – 18 consecutive home wins forming a wonderful platform for their back-to-back minor premierships.

Five home games in the first seven rounds of 2026 will provide Old Brighton with an opportunity to set their season up once again.

With the Tonners having won back-to-back Under 19 Premiers titles over the past two seasons, senior coach Marcel Bruin has inherited a talented group of youngsters keen to step up and make their mark at the top level.

The man known as ‘Soup’ knows that every other club will have been intently studying how to break his team down, and that will begin with Steve Alessio and the Snowdogs this weekend.

The Dogs looked to be heading for relegation last season, until two wonderful back-to-the-wall wins over finals contenders in the last two rounds saw them clamber to safety.

Their next challenge is to start their climb into the top half of the ladder, and given this is their third straight year under Alessio in Premier Men’s, they have built a foundation of experience and chemistry that can allow them to add layers that can challenge the better teams.

They open their campaign with almost the toughest draw imaginable, playing the two Grand Finalists then St Kevin’s, who finished fourth.

What an opportunity to make an early statement and build immediate belief!

Can they begin by knocking off a team that has beaten them all 6 times since COVID by an average of 44 points? And do it on the day they unfurl their first ever A-grade premiership flag?

Find out with our LIVE STREAMS on Kommunity TV & VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday.

This game will be followed by PART 2 of our KTV double-header, featuring the Holmesglen Under 19 Premier GRAND FINAL REMATCH between Old Brighton & St Kevin’s from 4.40pm.

Saturday Night Footy – LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on Kommunity TV!

OLD HAILEYBURY vs UNIVERSITY BLACKS (Princes Park – 2pm: Kommunity TV)

Old Haileybury’s 2025 season was the tale of two halves.

They turned 7-2 at the midway point, having peeled off an impressive 6-game winning streak that included a fighting 12-point road win over St Kevin’s.

But then they hit the wall to go 2-7 in the second half of the campaign to ultimately be overrun by Old Scotch in a Round 18 ‘virtual Elimination Final’ that cost them a shot at September.

Tellingly, they went 0-6 against the eventual Top 3, by an average margin of 6 goals. However, they could have won 2 of those games, given they only fell to Old Xavs by 7 points in Round 3, and to Old Brighton by 1 point in Round 10.

2024 Premier B premiership coach Daniel Ward has taken the next step in his coaching journey, leading the newly-standalone Sandringham Zebras in the VFL. His new team boasts a distinct VAFA flavour, which is wonderful to see.

2018 St Kevin’s premiership coach Guy Martyn returns to William Buck Premier Men’s after a season coaching Glen Eira/Old McKinnon, and has recruited strongly as his team aims to bridge the gap to September.

“We want to be pushing for Top 4 after finishing fifth last year,” said Martyn.

“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.

“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.”

University Blacks finished one game behind the Bloods in 2025, going 8-10 to finish in sixth position. They lost 4 of their first 5 to find themselves in early trouble, before finding their rhythm to peel off 5 straight wins to be in the September mix mid-season.

But, just like the Bloods, they tapered off in the run home, losing 6 of their last 8.

Coach Dale Bower spent the summer focusing on the athletic development of his players and improving their system.

This connection piece will be critical given the number of new faces, which are headlined by a handful of front-liners, including ex-AFL players Zaine Cordy and Thomson Dow, along with talented VFL performers Max Geddes, Sam Conway, and Harry Broderick.

This influx of top-end talent marks Blacks as a team to watch early in 2026. They boasted wins over 3 of the Top 4 teams last season (Old Brighton, Old Scotch and St Kevin’s), so they know their best is more than capable of challenging anyone.

Consistency will be their focus, as it will be for Old Haileybury.

It’s two teams starting from similar positions on the grid, sharing the same goal – catching and passing the Big Boys. Who will take the first step in Round 1?

Watch it LIVE & EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV from 1.55pm Saturday.

OLD SCOTCH vs CAULFIELD GRAMMARIANS (Camberwell Sportsground 2.30pm – VAFA.com.au)

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.

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.”

Caulfield Grammarians return to William Buck Premier Men’s after two seasons in Premier B, with veteran coach Paul Satterley entering his second season at the helm.

The Fields were slow out of the blocks in 2025, dropping 3 of their first 4 under their new coach, but soon found their rhythm and emerged from a huge peloton of potential contenders in an ultra-competitive Premier B field.

They won 13 of their next 16 to power their way into a stacked Top 4, winning 2 sudden-death finals over Old Carey and Old Ivanhoe to qualify for Grand Final Day.

Despite falling short of Old Trinity, it was enough to earn a return to the top-flight, and the man universally known as ‘Satts’ believes his team is ready for the challenge.

“By year’s end, we had established a style of play that had a good balance of scoring and improved team defence,” said Satterley.

“We won 8 of our 9 home games, and we became ingrained to play out every game right to the final siren.

“Over the summer, we largely focused on improving our collective fitness, and increased our training loads and kilometres per session.

“We go into this season full of belief in ourselves. We have a very talented list, and we play a recognisable brand of footy that we trust will be very competitive each week.”

Can the Fields make a first-up statement in their return to Premier Men’s, or will the Cards get off to a good start at home?

Find out as part of our VAFA TV DOUBLE-HEADER, which kicks off with a William Buck Premier Women’s Grand Final rematch between Old Scotch & Caulfield Grammarians from 12.35pm, followed by this Premier Men’s clash from 2.15pm.

UNIVERSITY BLUES vs OLD TRINITY (Melbourne University Oval – 2pm)

The Blues went 6-10-2 in 2025, finishing 8th under first-year coach Matt Smith.

But those numbers don’t tell the full story, and the Blues were – at times – considerably better than their win-loss record suggested.

For example, they won just 2 of their first 11 games to sink their season before it really got started.

However, 4 of those matches were decided by 2 points or less – and the Blues lost 2 of them (to St Bernard’s by 1pt in Rd.1 & 2pts to Xavs in Rd.7) and drew 2 of them (St Bernards R9 & Collegians R10).

Despite not winning any of those 4 nailbiters, they recovered well enough to still be a mathematical chance of playing finals with 2 rounds to play, after stirring victories over Old Haileybury, Old Scotch and arch-rivals Uni Blacks.

Matt Smith enters Year 2 of his tenure keen to further explore the potential of his young group.

“We’ve had a lot of work to do as a coaching group and playing group if we want to be competitive at the top end of the table.

“The upside is that we believe there is a lot of growth in the young playing group we have. We’ve focused on our fitness, ball movement and the connection between our forward, midfield and defensive lines.

“We’re expecting more consistent performances, and to decrease the gap between our best footy and our worst.”

Meanwhile, Old Trinity is back in Premier Men’s for the first time since the end of 2022, and they arrive with a shiny new premiership cup in the cabinet.

Now they set their sights on the top flight once again, and coach Donald McDonald believes their 2025 campaign will hold them in solid stead.

“It was great to get 15-18 games into a good block of players,” said the former Werribee premiership coach.

“We’ve lost three key leaders from 2025, so we’ve focused a lot on leadership over the summer and have expanded our leadership group.

“It will be largely driven by our players, especially the younger ones. If our young blokes don’t step up, we’ll be back in B-Grade with a rocket. De La Salle’s experience last year showed how hard Premier Men’s is. 

“We have a good understanding of what we need to do gameplan-wise, and we’ll keep building on that. It’s going to be about adapting as quickly as we can.”

Can the T’s celebrate their first top-flight match in 4 years with a road win at Melbourne Uni, or will the Blues begin by banking 4 premiership points?

VAFA WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 1

SATURDAY APRIL 18:-

St Kevin’s vs Old Xaverians (2pm – SEN MATCH OF THE DAY & VAFA TV)           

Old Brighton vs St Bernard’s (2pm – Kommunity TV & VAFA TV)       

Old Haileybury vs Uni Blacks (2pm – Kommunity TV)     

Old Scotch vs Caulfield Grammarians (2.30pm – VAFA TV)     

University Blues vs Old Trinity (2pm – Melbourne Uni Main Oval)