William Buck Premier Men’s – Round 5 Preview

A full month of footy is generally when you can start building meaningful form lines and begin assessing who sits where in the pecking order of a competition.

Round 5 is going to teach us some more about a few sides, headlined by the Grand Final Rematch and a Top 4 blockbuster!

Here’s a closer look:

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OLD SCOTCH vs OLD BRIGHTON (Sat 2pm – Camberwell: VAFA TV & SEN app)

These two teams have met in the past two Grand Finals, splitting the results one apiece.

Unusually, both arrive at the Grand Final rematch coming off losses – the first time that both the Cards & Tonners lost on the same weekend since Round 12 last year.

Old Brighton’s 11-game winning streak was snapped by the Blacks in a thriller at Fortress Brighton, also ending their victorious 20-game run at home. What will Mark Gnatt and the Cards’ coaching staff learn from that game that they didn’t know previously? Probably not that much. The Cards know how to beat the Tonners, but it’s easier said than done.

You need to be persistent and relentless, as Blacks were, and they ended up winning just about every major stat category, yet still only just sneaked over the line in the tightest of circumstances.

Both these teams love to control the football (Top 2 for Uncontested Marks), but this season, retaining possession has been more of a challenge for the Cardinals.

Old Scotch also sits last for Contested Possessions, Loose Gets and Ground Balls. Can Will Clark give them a meaningful first-use advantage against talented young ruck Josh Carr?

Yet they are still generating Inside 50s (Ranked #4 to Old Brighton’s #7), however, their conversion into Goals has been an issue (#1 Av. Goals vs #7 Old Scotch). This can be traced back to their entry kicks Inside 50 – Old Brighton are #1 for Effective Kicks going Inside 50, whereas Old Scotch are #9.

So, the numbers suggest the Tonners will need far fewer chances to kick a winning score.

Conversely, the reigning champs are ranked Last for Effective Kick % leaving Defensive 50, so if Old Scotch can get the ball forward and build a wall behind it, they could create repeat scoring opportunities for themselves.

The Tonners enter in top spot at 3-1, but a loss here would see them slip one game off the pace.

The Cardinals are 1-3 and need a win to keep in touch with the Top 4.

It’s a HUGE game, and you can watch it LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au & LISTEN to our award-winning VAFA SEN Match of the Day radio coverage on VAFA.com.au & the SEN app from 1.45pm Saturday!

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UNIVERSITY BLUES vs OLD XAVERIANS (Sat 2pm – Melb Uni: VAFA TV)

It’s third hosting second in a Round 5 blockbuster that will anoint the winner as the early #1 Contender to Old Brighton’s crown.

Both the Blues and Xavs boast balanced and experienced line-ups, elevated by unparalleled top-end ex-AFL and VFL talent capable of influencing games all over the park.

Much of the attention understandably goes to the Blues’ twin-tower strike force up forward, with Sam Grimley and James Stewart leading the league goalkicking with 19 and 15, respectively.

The duo accounts for 56% of Blues goals so far this season and have repeatedly demonstrated their ability to rip games apart in quick bursts once they get a period of quality supply, given their marking power and conversion is virtually unstoppable (32.8 from Marks Inside 50 to the opposition’s 11.7).

A deeper dive into HOW the Blues generate that supply is even more telling.

They have dominated Goals from Turnover this season, booting 36.29 to the opposition’s 20.20. That’s an average of 4 goals a week MORE from turnover, with 25 of those 36 goals coming from Midfield turnovers (compared to the opposition’s 13).

But while they are virtually DOUBLE the opposition in Goals from Turnover, they are almost LEVEL with them in Goals from Stoppage (20.12 to 17.13).

So, despite being ranked Last for Tackles, it’s clear that the Pressure Game of the Blues is a huge key to their success. They set up well and force turnovers by denying easy possession, then feast on the turnover by ramming it down the throat of Grimley or Stewart.  

Can Xavs withstand that pressure this week, and maybe even serve it back to the Blues themselves? SKOB managed to do just that in the second half last week.

Dan Donati’s team love to control the ball (#1 Disposals), shift it around (#3 Uncontested Marks) and hit up their own gun forwards Inside 50 (#1 Marks Inside 50), led by Charlie Macisaac (13 goals) and a committee of dangerous scorers around him (Wade Brusnahan 8, Jack O’Sullivan 6, Charlie Knott 4, Tommy McRae 4, Ed Delany 4 & the mercurial Alwyn Davey 4).

Xavs have so many players stepping up to beat you in different ways on any given day, and the arrival of Davey into the mix makes them even more potent.

As does the arrival of big, strong, athletic Ollie Sestan, who was best afield on debut last week.

Keep an eye on the Alec Spralja-Joe Furphy ruck battle – it should be a beauty and may go a long way towards determining who gets to dictate terms from the inside.

With star power everywhere, this promises to be an absolute ripper.

The winner kicks a game clear of the loser in the race for the Top 2.

Will Xavs win their 8^th straight over Uni Blues and add to a streak that stretches back to mid 2022?

Find out LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday!

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ST BERNARD’S vs UNIVERSITY BLACKS (Sat 2pm – Snake Pit; KTV & VAFA TV)

Two of the most awkwardly dangerous teams in the comp clash at the Snake Pit.

What do I mean by that? Well, both have a capacity to drag you into a scrap and then beat you their own way – often when form lines don’t suggest it.

Uni Blacks did it to Old Brighton again last Saturday. The Blacks have proven themselves somewhat impervious to the Tonners’ general dominance of the league in recent times, but coach Dale Bower has been around the game long enough to know that such an outstanding, against-the-odds performance can lead to an emotional letdown the following week.

Bring anything less than your A-game to the Snake Pit, and you might find yourself crawling out at the end of the day covered in fang marks!

Just ask Old Scotch, who got run over in a low-scoring scrap in the Snowdogs’ first home game of the season in Round 2.

Now the Dogs return home in need of a win, having slipped to 1-3 after back-to-back road losses to early finals contenders St Kevin’s and Old Trinity.

The biggest question for coach Steve Alessio is whether they can find enough avenues to goal. Ranked Last in Attack, the Snowdogs are averaging just under 60 points per game, and that’s making life tough for his defence at the other end as they try to restrict teams to a lesser score.

However, Blacks haven’t been setting the scoreboard alight either, ranked #8 in Attack (averaging 68 points), so we might be in for another tight, tense, all-the-way-to-the-final-siren struggle at the Snake Pit!

Catch this game on Kommunity TV & VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday, straight after KTV’s LIVE & EXCLUSIVE Holmesglen Under 19 Premier Match of the Day between De La Salle & Beaumaris from 11.35am!

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OLD TRINITY vs OLD HAILEYBURY (Saturday 2pm – Daley Oval)

What a fascinating game this promises to be.

The VAFA’s two most recent Premier B champions go head-to-head on Old Trinity’s turf, and both enter full of confidence after making positive starts to the season.

The T’s are where the Bloods were this time last year – full of confidence and enthusiasm after rocketing out of the blocks in their return to William Buck Premier Men’s. Sitting in 4^th spot at 3-1, Donald McDonald’s team is aiming for 4 straight wins and is playing an exciting, free-flowing brand of football.

They got out of jail when Dom Payman won the game with the last kick of the match against the fast-finishing Snowdogs last week, but it was a great sign of maturity and poise not to get blown out late after St Bernard’s had run them down.

History shows that early wins are crucial for teams stepping up to Premier Men’s, and you need look no further than Old Haileybury for proof.

The Bloods won 7 of their first 9 games in 2025 and looked almost certain to be finalists, but the added intensity of the top flight took its toll. They ran out of gas and soldiers in the second half of the season, narrowly missing the finals on the last day.

That disappointment has fuelled their resolve to push harder for longer in 2026, and an away win here against a former Premier B foe could see them leapfrog the T’s into the Top 4.

They look evenly matched. It will be Old Trinity’s #5 Attack vs Old Haileybury’s #6 Defence, while at the other end, the T’s #5 Defence will match up on the Bloods’ #6 Attack. Just 1.5 points separate them in attack, and just 3 points in defence!

Given both these teams are shaping to be buzzing around the last couple of Top 4 spots come August, this looms as an old-fashioned (yet mathematically inaccurate) 8-point game!

Catch this game at Daley Oval from 2pm Saturday.

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CAULFIELD GRAMMARIANS vs ST KEVIN’S (Saturday 2 pm – Glen Huntly Park)

The final game of the round sees Caulfield Grammarians return home desperate for a win after two thumping losses took the wind out of their sails.

The Fields were so gritty in their opening two games (a narrow loss to Old Scotch, then a gutsy 4-point win over the Bloods), but have been blown off the park in the past fortnight by the high-octane offences of Uni Blues (80 points) and Old Xavs (99 points).

Having conceded 43 goals in two weeks, coach Paul Satterley knows the time has come relatively early for his team to dig in and make a stand.

“We’re very disappointed with our past two games, and our final quarters in particular,” said Satterley after his team conceded 10 goals to 2 in the last term against Xavs.

“Prior to this, we have shown real grit and fight, so this is something we want to address moving forward.”

Let’s see how his young charges respond to their coach’s clear call to action.

They will host a St Kevin’s full of confidence after a promising opening month of football. They were competitive against Xavs and Brighton, then comfortably took care of the Snowdogs, before staging an incredible 52-point turnaround from time-on in the third term to roll the previously unbeaten Uni Blues at Melbourne Uni.

It was a fighting performance that delighted coach Anthony Lynch.

“The Blues took control during the third quarter and kicked 5 goals in 15 mins, and we were seriously challenged. Our response over the next 40 minutes shows some real growth from this new group, who are trying to forge their own story.

“The players’ ability to dig in mentally and physically against very strong opposition, and continue to take the game on and compete hard, left our coaching group incredibly proud.

“It’s really pleasing to deliver two strong performances back-to-back, and I’m confident our players are very clear what’s expected each and every week.”

Now their challenge is to deliver for a third straight week and get ahead of the ledger for the first time this season. It’s the sort of game that Plugger and his team should bank if they’re going to make an eighth straight finals series, but he’ll be under no illusions that a fired-up Fields line-up could present an enormous danger game.

Catch the action at Glen Huntly Park from 2pm Saturday.

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WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 5

SATURDAY MAY 16 – 2pm:

Old Scotch                           vs             Old Brighton                      VAFA.com.au & SEN app – 1.45pm

University Blues                 vs             Old Xaverians                    VAFA.com.au – 1.55pm

St Bernard’s                          vs             University Blacks              Kommunity TV & VAFA.com.au – 1.55pm

Old Trinity                              vs             Old Haileybury                   

Caulfield Grammarians        vs             St Kevin’s