William Buck Premier Men’s – Round 6 Preview

The William Buck Premier Men’s ladder is starting to stretch out, with 3 teams leading the way at 4-1, 3 teams bringing up the rear at 1-4, and 4 teams wedged in the middle.

Round 6 provides another opportunity for teams to better their position, and we have some fantastic match-ups to look forward to! Here’s a closer look:

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ST KEVIN’S vs OLD SCOTCH (Sat 2pm – TH King: VAFA TV)

These two great rivals meet for the first time since the Cardinals shattered SKOB’s premiership dream in last year’s First Semi Final.

That afternoon, the Cards entered with all the momentum, riding a 3-game winning streak that would ultimately to stretch to five straight before being snapped on Grand Final Day.

But this time around, it’s St Kevin’s who enter with the edge in form and confidence, having won their last 3 while Old Scotch has lost their last 4.

The contest looms as particularly critical in this one. SKOB are #2 Contested Possessions, while Old Scotch are LAST (and last for Ground Balls also). Can the Cards muscle up on the inside and at least break even with SKOB, then beat them on the spread and with their transition game?

Henry Brown and Will Townsend have been finding plenty of the football. They’ll take on Andrew Mathieson, George Delimitrou and big bad bustling Billy Coates, who will have a major role to play in giving his midfield first use.

St Kevin’s intercept game has been effective (#2 for Intercept Possessions) so they’ll be well aware of the importance of preventing the Cards playing keepings off by interrupting those uncontested chains.

Both teams are strong in the air, so the aerial battle will be key, with the likes of Charlie Cormack down back taking on SKOB’s marking forwards Sam Tucker, Doug Kerr and Jacob Koschitzke. At the other end, Quinn Spencer and Will Clark will try to get off the leash and cause some havoc of their own.

Old Scotch has won 4 of its last 5 over SKOB, and has ended St Kevin’s season the past two years (after SKOB ended theirs in 2023).

While a loss here will in no way, shape or form end Old Scotch’s season, a fifth straight loss to slip to 1-5 would start to see the Top 4 disappearing off in the distance, a full 3 wins ahead of them.

A St Kevin’s win could see them jump into the Top 4, and the 4-game winning streak that delivers would set them up nicely for a very tricky 4-game stretch to come that will see them play 3 games on the road and just one at home, against Old Brighton.

It’s always a big game when St Kevin’s and Old Scotch lock horns and, sure enough, this one has season connotations on the end of it as well.

Catch this massive clash LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.55pm Saturday!

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OLD BRIGHTON vs OLD TRINITY (Saturday 2pm – Brighton Beach Oval)

What a fascinating game we have here, with last season’s Premier Men’s champs hosting the Premier B champs after both have made excellent starts to 2026, and the winner to kick a game clear of the other.

Both sit 4-1, with Old Trinity entering on a white-hot 4-game winning streak that has seen them play exciting, fearless football, taking the game on, playing with freedom and winning in different ways.

We all know that the Tonners at Fortress Brighton is the toughest challenge in William Buck Premier Men’s and has been for some time. But the T’s will take confidence from two things: –

• Their blistering performance to blow Old Xavs away on their home deck at Toorak Park in Round 2;
• The fact that Uni Blacks rolled into Brighton a fortnight ago and managed to snap the home team’s 20-game winning streak, reinforcing that the Tonners are beatable if you can execute your game plan better for longer.

T’s coach, Donald McDonald, is excited by the challenge.

“They are strong in all three areas of the ground,” he said during the week. “Good rucks, good mids, dangerous goalkickers and role players up forward, talented running backs and great defenders.”

But he’s looking forward to the chance to test themselves against the benchmark.

“The great thing about this week is that by 5pm, we will know how we stack up.”

The Tonners generally possess the ball more than Old Trinity (#1 Disposals vs #8), but in terms of Contested Possessions, they are virtually equal (average 154 to 153) and the same for Clearances (43 to 42).

This suggests it will be even on the inside, so the game may be decided by who gets it to the outside more effectively, and is cleaner taking it forward.

They are virtually level on Inside 50s too (49.8 to 49.4 in favour of the T’s), so maybe it simply comes down to who takes their chances around goal. This is where Marcel Bruin and the Tonners will hope to have the edge.

Old Trinity has had 2 more Inside 50s for the season (249 to 247), but Old Brighton has kicked 15 more goals (75 to 60).

The home team will be hoping it has superior strike power to make more from their opportunities, with the likes of Archi Manton (12 goals), Felix Flockart (9), Hamish Dick (9), Ben Pryor (8) and Charlie Richardson (8) providing a multitude of effective avenues to goal.

Old Trinity’s forward set-up has been more focused around a primary target – Dom Payman, who has been outstanding in recent weeks, booting 5 goals against St Bernard’s (including the winner on the siren) and 4 against the Bloods in match-winning performances. He has 15 goals for the season, followed by Tom Ferrier (7), Alex Emery (6) and then a few players on 4.

So the T’s may be more reliant on one man to lead their attack, but fortunately for them, he’s in sparkling form and damn hard to stop!

It promises to be a very revealing afternoon, with the winner kicking a game clear of the loser.

Does Old Brighton begin a new winning streak at home, or do the T’s make a huge statement and win 5 in a row?

Find out at Brighton Beach Oval from 2pm Saturday!

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OLD XAVERIANS vs ST BERNARD’S (Sat 2pm – Toorak Park; VAFA TV & SEN app)

With two of the Top 3 teams clashing at Brighton Beach, the opportunity exists for Old Xavs to also kick a game clear of the loser if they can win their fourth game on the trot.

Not only are they well positioned at 4-1, but all four of their wins have been convincing: 26 points against SKOB (after leading by up to 6 goals in the final quarter), 54 points over Old Scotch, 99 over Caulfield, and last week they pulled away from the Blues to win by 5 goals.

Ranked #1 Attack (av.103ppg) and #2 Defence (68ppg), they are strong and well-balanced at both ends.

Big V squad rep Charlie Macisaac is having another fantastic season, spearheading Xavs’ attack with 17 goals. But if Charlie doesn’t get you, his support crew might – Wade Brusnahan (9 goals), Jack O’Sullivan (8), Charlie Knott (5), Ed Delany (5) and Oscar Duncan (5).

Duncan was added to the Big V squad this week after his eye-catching 4-goal performance against the Blues last week. It showed another string to his already impressive bow as a more than capable ruck partner for Alec Spralja. Now he’s also a more than capable forward partner for Macisaac!

Campbell Lane is another in blistering form for Xavs, leading the competition for Disposals (averaging an incredible 36 touches, 10 contested and 5 clearances). He had 26 touches to half-time last week, ultimately finishing with 47, following on from his 43 against Caulfield the previous week.

Snowdogs coach Steve Alessio is well aware of the strength Xavs have all over the park, but knows that at 1-4, his team is fast approaching crunch time if they are to position themselves to challenge the top half of the ladder rather than fighting for survival in the bottom half.

Unlike Xavs, the Dogs are struggling to score, ranked last in Attack (av.60ppg). On his day, Matthew Watson (9 goals) is a match-winner, while Daniel Gilham (6) and Luke Di Lizio (4) are both more than capable of chipping in and influencing a result. But they desperately need more supply.

St Bernard’s are Last for Inside 50s (av.46 per game), and compounding that stat is their mid-ranking (#6) for hitting a target when entering the Forward 50. They’ve taken just 43 Marks Inside 50, compared to Xavs’ 73.

The Dogs are #3 for Disposals, so they are having more than their fair share of the ball and spreading it around a lot, but they remain last for Inside 50s – they’re just not getting it into dangerous positions enough.

So, the key question is: can their midfield not only win more of the football (#9 Contested Possessions), but then finish their work by connecting with their forwards more regularly?

They may be 1-4, but ask Old Trinity whether they are more dangerous than that, after the T’s beat with them with the final kick of the game a fortnight ago.

Dan Donati and Xavs will be keen to exert their dominance early, because they’ll know the longer the Dogs hang around, the more savage they become, and the last thing the Red & Black Mafia want is to be dragged down into a streetfight against the Junkyard Dogs!

Watch this game LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.45pm Saturday, with our award-winning SEN Match of the Day radio coverage also available on the SEN app!

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UNIVERSITY BLACKS vs CAULFIELD GRAMMARIANS (Sat 2pm – Melb Uni & Kommunity TV)

This game pits two teams with markedly different form lines head-to-head, as Uni Blacks hunt their third straight win as they host Caulfield Grammarians, who are fighting to avoid a fourth straight loss.

The Blacks stumbled out of the gate to lose their first three. All were winnable, but they failed to put four solid quarters together, so all three slipped through their fingers.

But the past fortnight has seen them find their rhythm, with a brilliant fighting win over Old Brighton clicking them into gear, before they managed to grind out a victory over St Bernard’s at the Snake Pit.

Next, they face the Fields, who will be hungry to make a statement that gets their own season up and rolling.

Paul Satterley’s team endured a couple of tough weeks against the high-octane offences of the Blues and Xavs, but last week his charges (despite being two men down before half time), answered the bell in the second half and pushed SKOB all the way into the final term, trailing by just 9 points at the last break before St Kevin’s pulled away with the breeze late.

“I loved the response after a couple weeks below par,” Satterley said post-game.

“Importantly for us in what is a very tough competition, we will see a number of lads start to return to the side in the next few games, so I’m excited to see us building on this effort.”

And that’s the opportunity this Saturday provides.

If Caulfield can run out at Melbourne Uni, fight, scrap and pressure all afternoon like they did against SKOB, they might just be able to upset the Blacks’ momentum and create some of their own.

Granted, the Fields have been chasing tail much of the season (#9 Disposals), but they’ve stuck to that task admirably (#1 Pressure Rating & #2 Tackles).

The inside game will be crucial. Blacks are #1 for Total Clearances, while Caulfield is Last, although, in an unusual quirk, they are actually #1 for Centre Clearances.

So, even if the Fields aren’t winning clearances around the ground themselves, they will need to apply sufficient pressure that prevents Blacks from having clean takeaways that enable quick delivery to dangerous forwards such as Zaine Cordy and Matthew Grocott.

If the Fields can turn it into a scrap on the inside, forcing quick dump kicks and high balls under pressure Inside 50, it will at least give their defenders, led by Oscar Roberts, who is having a fine season, some sort of chance to get a fist in, get it to ground and then continue the scrap there.

When they do have possession, the Fields need to be tidier. They are currently Last for Disposal Efficiency (62%, including a paltry 53% Kick Efficiency). It’s virtually impossible to win games when you’re coughing up the ball with every second kick and only hitting a target entering Forward 50 on 1-in-3 kicks.

Fight hard, win the footy, then protect it by spreading hard and creating uncontested marks, which makes for easier targets to hit – that’s Caulfield’s blueprint.

Can they hang in and pressure the Blacks into error often enough to make them jittery? If so, then anything becomes possible.

Find out LIVE & EXCLUSIVE to Kommunity TV from 1.55pm, followed by the Holmesglen Under 19 Premier Match of the Day between local rivals St Bede’s/Mentone Tigers & Parkdale Vultures from 4.55pm!

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OLD HAILEYBURY vs UNIVERSITY BLUES (Saturday 2pm – Princes Park)

The final game of the round is an important one for two teams that have been riding the rollercoaster and are looking to stabilise their season by finding some consistent form and establishing themselves in the leading pack, rather than scrapping for survival in the middle rungs of the ladder.

2026 has been a mixed bag for the Bloods so far. A thrilling come-from-behind win over the Blacks to kick things off, but they’ve been inconsistent since. They lost a game to Caulfield by 4 points (the Fields’ only loss), then suffered an 8-goal defeat to Brighton, followed by a 43-point victory over Old Scotch. But then a 4-goal loss to Old Trinity last week put them on the back foot at 2-3.

Uni Blues exploded into 2026 with three straight wins over Old Trinity, Uni Blacks and Caulfield to be looming as an early team to watch. But they’ve been found wanting over the past fortnight, being overrun by St Kevin’s and Old Xavs, both of whom powered away in the final term.

Right now, it feels like the Blues sit roughly where they belong in the current pecking order – at the tail end of the Top 4, with 3 teams challenging them for fourth spot – SKOB, Uni Blacks and the Bloods.

So, this game feels like the mathematically inaccurate ‘8-point game’ that us media types like to bang on about, because it’s quite conceivable that these two teams end up scrapping it out for the one finals berth come season’s end.

We talk about the Blues’ two-headed monster up forward every week – and rightly so, because Sam Grimley (21 goals for the season) and James Stewart (17) loom large over every game they play in. Last week, the Xavs’ defence held them to 2 goals apiece, and it proved to be the difference in the game.

Can the Bloods shackle them for long enough to hold Blues to a beatable score? They only need 5 minutes to rip the game away from you, so Old Haileybury’s defence will have to remain on high alert all afternoon. And don’t sleep on Ben Townson or James Curran!

At the other end, it’s a collection of crafty forwards that Blues’ coach Matt Smith will be most concerned about, as Old Haileybury can beat you by committee.

Flynn Gregor is having an excellent season for the Bloods, averaging 21 disposals to go with his 9 goals. He can bob up to make key plays, as can Cody Goonewardene (7 goals), Bailey Yates (6), Ned Conway & Hugo Nosiara (5), and Noah Higgins (4). They boast X-Factor aplenty if given time and space to weave some magic.

The Bloods are well capable of playing efficient football. Despite being ranked Last for Disposals, they are #3 Inside 50s. They tackle hard, win their share of Ground Balls (#1 Hard Gets), but will need to be tidier when they have it (#9 Disposal Efficiency vs Blues #2).

Both teams have weapons and elements to their game capable of troubling the other. Who executes better and secures these precious 4 premiership points?

Catch the action at Princes Park from 2pm Saturday.

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WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 6

SATURDAY MAY 23 – 2pm:

Old Xaverians             vs             St Bernard’s                           VAFA.com.au & SEN – 1.45pm

St Kevin’s                    vs             Old Scotch                             VAFA.com.au – 1.55pm

University Blacks        vs             Caulfield Grammarians   KTV – 1.55pm

Old Brighton                vs             Old Trinity                               

Old Haileybury             vs            University Blues

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