William Buck Premier Men's

The Fields rise from the drop zone & SKOB jump into the Top 4 – William Buck Premier Men’s Round 6 Review

By Jason Bennett · May 26, 2026

Round 6 of William Buck Premier Men’s shuffled the ladder around as Caulfield Grammarians pulled off one of the upsets of the year to climb out of the bottom 2, while the Blues won a thriller to retain their top 4 spot.

They were joined by SKOB, who hung on against the fast-finishing Cardinals, who slid into the drop zone one-third of the way into the season.

Here’s our look back at Round 6:

It was a one-point thriller at Princes Park as University Blues just managed to hold off Old Haileybury by the barest possible margin.

The Blues led for virtually the entire day, dominating territory early to generate 9 first-quarter scoring shots to 4 and hold a 15-point quarter-time lead, which was trimmed to 9 points by half-time when the Bloods flipped the script in the second term.

The home team could have been in front, but booted 2.7. They would come to rue that inaccuracy later in the afternoon.

The game opened up into a shootout in the third term, with the Blues kicking 7.3 to 5.2 in a thoroughly entertaining quarter of football that saw the visitors head to the final change with a 22-point lead.

However, the Bloods weren’t done yet. Could they come storming home to claim the points as they did in the opening round against the Blacks?

Cody Goonewardene kicked the comeback off with a long-range set shot goal one minute in, and when Ned Conway roved a ball-up to finish with a clever snap 5 minutes later, it was back to an 11-point game, and the momentum was squarely with the hosts.

James Stewart temporarily held back the tide with his fourth goal for the Blues, but when Charlie Harrop marked in the goalsquare, it was back to a 10-point game at the 20-minute mark, and when James Paitaridis streamed into an open goal, it was game on, with the Bloods back within a kick and only 22 minutes gone.

Old Haileybury then hit the front when Lucas Hornblower ran onto a spillage and slammed it through from the goal-line to give the hosts a 1-point lead as the local crowd went wild at the 23-minute mark.

But it wasn’t over yet, as the Blues surged forward from the centre clearance, resulting in a mark at the top of the goalsquare to Jack O’Sullivan that put the visitors immediately back in front by 5.

The Blues surged out of the middle again and added a further behind when Jack Hayter’s quick snap hit the post to make it a one-kick game, and when the resultant kick-in was turned over, a long-range Blues shot was touched off the boot.

It sailed through the middle, and the single point it delivered turned out to be the critical one. The margin was now 7 points approaching the 28-minute mark.

With no time to waste, Durras Seccull grabbed the footy and launched it long from the kick-in. The Bloods won a clearance on the wing via a beautiful tap to the inside, releasing Hugo Nosiara, who booted it deep inside 50, where Charlie Harrop gathered and snapped truly to bring the margin back within a single point once again.

The final two minutes was a desperate scrap, but the Blues ultimately did enough to hang on and rise to third spot after a heart-stopper at Princes Park, while the Bloods now slip two games behind the Top 4 after their second loss by less than a goal this season.

Cam O’Shea was excellent for the Blues, collecting 25 disposals, 8 marks and 5 tackles, while fellow ex-AFL players James Stewart (4 goals) and Marty Gleeson (24 touches, 5 clearances, 7 Inside 50s) also continued their rich vein of form.

Charlie Harrop was best for the Bloods (19 disposals and 2 goals), while Jack Bell worked tirelessly in the ruck to finish with 20 disposals (17 contested) and 10 clearances, and Hugo Nosiara (25 disposals and 9 clearances) was effective as always.

Next up, the Blues head to Camberwell to face the under-pressure Cardinals, while the Bloods face a similar scenario as they head to the Snake Pit to meet the Snowdogs.

University Blues 15.13 (103)

Old Haileybury 15.12 (102)

GOALS: UB: Stewart 4; Grimley, Sinnott, Curran & Townson 2; O’Sullivan, Hayter, Cotter 1.

OH: Yates 4; Blight 3; Harrop & Paitaridis 2, B.Seccull, Conway, Goonewardene & Hornblower 1.

BEST:

UB: Cam O’Shea, James Stewart, Martin Gleeson, Tom Hill, Ben Townson, Jack O’Sullivan

OH: Charlie Harrop, Jack Bell, Hugo Nosiara, Brede Seccull, Noah Higgins, Bailey Yates

Matt Smith (Uni Blues): “Haileybury have a young list that showed a lot of fight all day and did what they had to do to stay in the contest. They did an excellent job of manufacturing a spare behind the ball and were able to generate a lot of run from behind, and handball receives which troubled us. Once we increased our pressure and evened up the numbers, we were able to control the game and get dangerous looks Inside 50.

“Big momentum swings throughout the game, but nice to get our noses in front at the right time. I think it was the best our forward line has functioned as a group for the year. They were able to create space on a small ground.

“This week, we’ll strip it back to basics again, focus on fundamentals and simple skill execution.”

Guy Martyn (Old Haileybury): “For large parts of the game, we were well and truly on top, and although not perfect, I was happy with all facets for the most part – contest, defence and ball movement. We just shot ourselves in the foot with some bad mistakes.

“I thought we let it slip with some bad moments that led to ‘easy’ goals for Uni Blues. We talk about patterns and moments (or events). For the large part, I thought the patterns of the game went our way – Blues just capitalised on some fundamental mistakes that proved very costly.

“Jack Bell had his best game for the year as solo ruck, while Charlie Harrop was another who had his best performance of the year – so much so that Uni Blues had someone running with him in the second half.

“When you consider the age, experience and ‘names’ on paper, I thought we put in a really good effort, but as was pointed out after the game, honourable losses don’t get you anywhere. So, whilst the effort of such a young group is to be commended, that needs to now be the expectation, and we build on that.”

Caulfield Grammarians snapped their 3-game losing streak with an impressive victory over the in-form University Blacks at Melbourne Uni Oval.

The Fields entered on a 3-game losing streak that had sent them to the bottom of the table, but they had been buoyed by a more competitive performance last week against St Kevin’s and some very handy inclusions to bolster their line-up.

Coach Paul Satterley had a clear game plan, and his team executed it superbly to halt the Blacks’ winning streak at 2.

The Fields scrapped hard all afternoon, racking up 74 tackles in a hard-working performance that held the Blacks’ kicking efficiency to just 50%. 86 turnovers were the result, and the Fields feasted accordingly, booting a whopping 15 of their 16 goals directly from turnovers, with the other goal coming from a kick-in.

Caulfield led by 5 points at the first change, but it could have been more, given they kicked 2.5 to 2.0. But the message had been sent, and the Fields quickly realised they were well and truly in this contest – their plan was working.

They added a further 4 goals to 3 in the second term to lead by 10 points at the half, then delivered their best quarter of the season to date when they put Blacks to the sword in the third quarter, booting 6.2 to 0.5 to crack the game open and head to the final huddle with a commanding 43-point advantage.

The Fields were surgical in that third term, going at 83% Disposal Efficiency while restricting the Blacks to just 61% (and just 43% by foot). Noah Sutherland, Noah Will, Ollie Wilson and Hamish McInerney had a combined 44 touches for the quarter, while skipper Jack Ellwood bobbed up with 9 disposals and 2 goals.

Uni Blacks battled on and slightly reduced the margin to 39 points by the final siren on a day that breathed life back into Caulfield Grammarians’ campaign, providing enormous confidence and belief to draw upon in the weeks ahead. Their 16-goal haul was a huge shot in the arm for an attack that had previously been averaging just 9 goals per match.

Ellwood played a wonderful captain’s game, finishing with 34 disposals, 18 marks, 9 tackles and 4 goals, while Jackson Wallace also booted 4 for the winners. Credit to Noah Sutherland, who worked hard all day to rack up 41 touches, including 11 Rebound 50s.

Sam Conway continued his excellent form for the Blacks, with 22 disposals, an incredible 78 hit-outs and 7 clearances, while Harry Broderick (33 touches, 10 tackles and 6 clearances), Max Gray, Jack Drummond and Patrick Smith were all good contributors once again.

The Fields’ second win of the season sees them rise out of the drop zone to 8^th spot. They’ll host Old Trinity in what promises to be a spirited rematch of last year’s Premier B Grand Final, while the Blacks will dust themselves off and prepare to host an in-form SKOB at Melbourne Uni.

Caulfield Grammarians 16.10 (106)

University Blacks 10.7 (67)

GOALS: CG: Ellwood & Wallace 4; Vesely 2; McKenzie, Roberts, Williams, Ellis, Will & Hutchings 1.

UB: Drummond 2; Vescio, Makieng, Gray, Broderick, Smith, O’Brien, Connell-Tobin & Driscoll 1.

BEST:

CG: Jack Ellwood, Jackson Wallace, Noah Sutherland, Flynn Ellis, Jack Webster, Ollie Wilson

UB: Max Gray, Jack Drummond, Patrick Smith, Charlie Connell-Tobin, Joel Ernest, Harrison Kelly

Paul Satterley (Caulfield): “The lads brought a lot of energy and I felt we maintained a high level of focus for most of the game, and really only lapsed for a period in the second term.

“We set up the win in the third quarter and found a great balance of contested possession with some outside run, which you clearly need to apply against the combative Blacks unit.

“Jack Ellwood played arguably his best game of VAFA footy, kicking 4 goals from the midfield, and his work rate was elite. Noah Sutherland set the tone for our defenders, while Jackson Wallace kicked a career-high 4 goals.

“Trinity has had an excellent season to date, so our focus will just be to keep building on what makes us a significantly more competitive side.”

Dale Bower (Uni Blacks): “Congrats to ‘Satts’ and Caulfield on their performance, they out-worked us in all phases of the game.

“We are very inconsistent at the moment. We know our best is good enough to beat anyone. Unfortunately, we were not at our best on Saturday.

“I’m sure we will see a massive effort this Saturday against St Kevin’s.”

St Kevin’s received a late scare from Old Scotch at TH King Oval but managed to hang on and register their fourth straight win.

SKOB were well in control of the game throughout the first three quarters after rocketing out of the blocks early to kick 8 of the first 9 goals of the match and lead by 42 points at quarter-time.

It was an explosive opening term from Anthony Lynch’s charges, who played extremely efficient football, getting it into their array of dangerous forwards quickly and directly to convert 21 Inside 50s into 8 goals, despite only having 9 more disposals.

The territory battle evened up after quarter time as the Cardinals started to work their way back into the game. SKOB still held the edge in general play, but Old Scotch managed to open their scoring tap, kicking 5.1 to 4.3 to slightly reduce their deficit to 38 points at the half.

It was more of the same in the third term as the visitors got their patented uncontested mark game going a little more to gain some control, but SKOB had the answers and kicked 4.4. to 4.1 to edge the margin back out to 41 at the final change.

Given the game had effectively been in a holding pattern for the middle two quarters, it was fair to assume that the last term would continue that trend. Wrong.

While SKOB continued to have slightly more possession, the Cards edged in front in the territory game, primarily off the back of their pressure game, given they were still being beaten on the inside. But the biggest change came from their conversion once they got it Inside 50.

In the first three quarters, Old Scotch generated just 32 Inside 50s for 10.6 – a score every second entry and a goal roughly every third.

In the final quarter, Old Scotch upped their territory to 15 Inside 50s for the quarter, but suddenly their attack clicked into gear, and they booted 6.5 from those entries. They began punishing SKOB on turnover (5 of their 6 goals for the term) and the game swung in their direction.

It didn’t all happen at once. In fact, the Cards had only booted 1 goal for the quarter up until the 13-minute mark, when Angus Jones slotted his second goal of the day. That reduced the margin back to what still appeared to be a comfortable 6 goals midway through the term.

But when Jones bobbed up to kick his third and fourth goal in a two-minute burst entering time-on, it was a 4-goal game with 10 or so minutes to play. Surely not…

Three minutes later, Henry Brown added another for the Cards, then Jones’ fifth goal (and his fourth for the quarter) made it a 10-point game at the 27-minute mark, and the 4 points that appeared to be safely locked away for SKOB were starting to flirt with the idea of a potential jailbreak.

As it happened, St Kevin’s managed to successfully lock the final few minutes down and hang on for a slightly nervy 10-point win after conceding 6.5 to 1.4 in a last quarter that no-one at TH King saw coming.

SKOB’s fourth straight win lifts them up into fourth spot on percentage ahead of Old Trinity. Next up, they face a danger game against the always tricky Uni Blacks at Melbourne Uni, with the Blacks to be fired up for a bounce-back performance.

The 1-5 Cardinals are starting to reach crunch time in their season. Their next three games will be both challenging and critical, as they host Uni Blues, then visit Old Trinity and Uni Blacks after the bye.

They performed an incredible Houdini act to sneak into the finals last season, but coach Mark Gnatt knows that they need to get moving sooner rather than later if they are to give themselves a chance of featuring in September once again in 2026.

St Kevin’s 17.15 (117)

Old Scotch 16.11 (107)

GOALS: STK: Behnk 5; Koschitzke 4; Pfeiffer & Tucker 2; Canning, Gunson, Hodges & Kerr 1.

OS: Jones 5; Clark 4; Lean & Symons 2; Brown, Macmillan & Spencer 1.

BEST:

STK: Jacob Koschitzke, Jack Behnk, Jack Mahony, William Coates, Sam Tucker, Andrew Mathieson

OS: Benjamin Fergusson, Will Townsend, Henry Brown, Brodie Easton, Will Clark, Angus Jones

Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s): “Firstly and most importantly, to get our fourth win in a row in such an even competition ultimately makes me happy.

“Our first quarter couldn’t have gone any better, kicking 8 goals to 1 and playing a brand we had been building towards for a few weeks. The coach was very happy at quarter time.

“The next three quarters were not so pleasing, if I’m honest. I must give credit to Scotch; they changed up their style and really took the game on pretty aggressively and fast, and we were not able to manage the momentum.

“In the end, the game got way too close for comfort, and allowing the scoreboard to get as close as it did shows we have some growth still in our group in terms of managing the scenarios of the game.

“Weekly results suggest the competition may be as even as it’s been in some years, so we are always grateful to learn the lessons whilst banking the 4 points.

“Sam Tucker, Jack Behnk, and Jacob Koschitzke formed a pretty dangerous combination up forward, so keen to watch them continue to gel, I thought Jack Mahony continued his strong form inside also.”

Mark Gnatt (Old Scotch): “Obviously, a poor start to the game with too many errors, and SKOB punished us on turnover in the first quarter. Our fight and spirit were on display from then on as we got back within two kicks with a few minutes remaining.

“In the end, conceding 100+ points is our main issue, and one that we are working to correct.

“Will Townsend was outstanding and is putting together a great season. Young Ben Fergusson battled hard all day in the ruck, and Angus Jones was dangerous up forward with 5 goals.”

Reigning premiers Old Brighton made a powerful statement with a dominant victory over Old Trinity at Brighton Beach Oval.

It was last season’s Premier Men’s champions hosting last season’s Premier B champions, and the Tonners were determined to begin a new winning streak at home, after their 20-game run was ended by Blacks a fortnight ago.

The visitors who kicked 2 of the first 3 goals to snatch an early lead, before Old Brighton clicked into gear to boot an incredible 6 goals in 11 minutes during time-on to power away to a 30-point quarter-time advantage.

The T’s kept battling on in the second term to kick 4 goals. But, unfortunately for them, they couldn’t stop the Tonners at the other end – Old Brighton adding 5 of their own to extend their lead to 38 points at the major break.

The game tightened up in the third term, with each team adding a further 2 goals – Old Trinity winning more of the ball and controlling it via uncontested marks (26 to 11 for the quarter), but it wasn’t resulting in forward progress (just 9 Inside 50s to 17).

Then, as is so often the case at Fortress Brighton, the Tonners put their foot down in the final quarter. Their precision by foot improved (from 53% Kick Efficiency in the third term to 69% in the last), allowing them to control the ball on the outside and provide their forwards with quality supply.

The result was 7.2 from just 13 Inside 50s as they shared the love around, with six individual goalkickers for the term, as they finished with 22.14 (146) – their equal largest score since they kicked 24.12 (156) against St Bede’s/Mentone Tigers in 2014! (They also kicked 146 points against Parkdale Vultures in Premier B in 2017.)

It blew the final margin out to 76 points – another healthy (and important) percentage boost for the reigning premiers, ahead of their top-of-the-table blockbuster against Old Xavs at Brighton this week. It was a costly final quarter for Old Trinity, who dropped 18% and slid out of the Top 4. They’ll visit Caulfield Grammarians for the Premier B Grand Final rematch this week.

Harry Hill and Felix Flockart were prominent for the Tonners as per usual, with Hill gathering 29 disposals, 7 tackles and 8 clearances, while Flockart combined well with youngster Josh Carr in the ruck. It’s a tandem that is rapidly building steam and becoming a genuine difference-maker for Marcel Bruin’s side.

Their list of goalkickers was telling, as they healthily spread the load – Luke Travers leading the way with 5, well supported by Ryan Agg and Joey Campigli with 4 apiece, while Jordy Segar kicked 3 and Oliver Goodger 2.

Hugo McGlashan continued his excellent season for the T’s, while Ed Chard, Charlie Beasley and Christos Manoussakis were also amongst Donald McDonald’s best.

Old Brighton 22.14 (146)

Old Trinity 10.10 (70)

GOALS: OB: Travers 5; Agg & J.Campigli 4; Segar 3; Goodger 2; Burnell, Karayannis, Pryor, Szonyi 1.

OT: E.Chard 3; McGlashan, Ferrier & Comer 2; Hughson 1.

BEST:

UB: Patrick Smith, Charlie Connell-Tobin, Campbell Moorfield, Harrison Kelly, Harry Broderick, Zaine Cordy

STB: Nicholas Conlan, Ben Overman, Harrison Schumann, Dylan Gwynne, Jonathon Guarnaccia, Angus Ryan

Marcel Bruin (Old Brighton): “Good win from our group on the weekend, against one of the form teams in Premier. The final score was not necessarily representative of the high-pressure game both teams played, and it felt much closer until late in the game.

“Trinity represents a unique challenge with their quick and impressive ball movement and chain handball offence, and when they get the ball to the outside, they create lots of good opportunities for their forwards. We worked really hard on our team defence and pressure at the contest to try and create our own opportunities, while also hoping to slow their exits.

“I thought our group’s ability to pressure the initial and next disposal was particularly good, although it took a little while to get used to the spread and make good decisions on the outside.

“I’ve enjoyed watching Jordy Segar’s form build over the early stages of this season. His game on the weekend had a great impact. Jamie Hope’s shift to some more midfield minutes has created more opportunities for him to have positive impacts on games, and he was involved in a number of scoring chains across the game. Luke Travers, Ryan Agg and Jonah Campigli were terrific up forward and worked hard to connect in our offence and got reward for effort, and Mason Szonyi was really effective off HB, with a great balance of defence and creating when we had the ball.”

Donald McDonald (Old Trinity): “I don’t think we could say there was an area of the ground that we won, and that was reflected on the scoreboard. On and off the field, we did not have a good day.

“I feel all of our players would reflect on that, and if we were totally honest with ourselves, we would say that we let each other down at various times of the game.

“The thing that is pretty obvious after six games is that all teams on their day have the capacity to win. Caulfield are coming off a big win and beat us out there last round in Prem B, so I am sure they will be very confident.”

The final game of the weekend saw Old Xaverians chalk up their fourth straight win in what ended up as a comprehensive victory over St Bernard’s at Toorak Park.

The opening term saw Xavs control the ball more so than territory, which ended virtually even despite the home team having considerably more possession.

They headed to the huddle with an 8-point lead, which grew to 29 points by halftime after Xavs kicked 5 of the last 6 goals, with O’Sullivan, Gangi, Delany, Brusnahan and Sestan all hitting the scoreboard, highlighting the breadth of scoring options at Dan Donati’s disposal.

Sam Fisher celebrated his long-awaited return from injury with a goal to open the second half, as the Red & Black accelerated away from the Snowdogs. The 2024 Woodrow Medallist seamlessly slotted back into the line-up for his first game of the season, ultimately finishing with 28 disposals, 8 tackles, 8 clearances and 2 goals as Xavs continue to add depth to their power.

Despite St Bernard’s winning more contested footy, it was Xavs controlling things on the outside, with their marking strength causing problems at both ends – intercepting and Inside 50.

They took 8 Marks Inside 50 for the quarter, resulting in 5.1, as they slammed on 7.4 to 1.4 to extend their lead to 65 points by the last change.

Credit to the Snowdogs, who kept fighting and managed to kick 4.5 in the final term. However, a further 6 majors to Xavs rounded out a comprehensive 74-point win that keeps them level with the Tonners at the top of the table, separated by just 5% after Xavs have booted a whopping 77 goals in 4 weeks!

Charlie Macisaac continued his stellar form and was voted SKINS Player of the Game for his 8 goals from 17 disposals and 10 marks. The Big V rep now has 25 goals for the season to hit the front in the League goalkicking by 2 over Blues’ spearhead Sam Grimley.

The comp’s leading rebounder and number 2 ball-winner, Will Goss, contracted leather poisoning once again, finishing with 38 disposals and 14 Rebound 50s, while the League’s leading ball-winner, Campbell Lane, added another 31 to his collection.

Ben Overman was prolific for the Snowdogs, racking up 35 touches, 13 Rebounds and a goal, while Luke Said, Ben Huggard and Dylan Gwynne all finished with 20 disposals.

It was a fine tune-up for Xavs ahead of their Game of the Season at Fortress Brighton this weekend, while the Snowdogs find themselves at the bottom of the table and needing to snap their 4-game losing streak when they host the Bloods at the Snake Pit.

Old Xaverians 22.15 (147)

St Bernard’s 10.13 (73)

GOALS: OX: Macisaac 8; Brusnahan 4; Sestan & Fisher 2; Knott, Delany, Duncan, O’Sullivan, Woodhouse, Gangi 1.

STB: Holland 2; Watson, Huggard, Di Lizio, Overman, Said, Gilham, Papley & Guarnaccia 1.

BEST:

OX: Will Goss, Charlie MacIsaac, Nick Guiney, Campbell Lane, Connor Dunne, Thomas Hart

STB: Luke Said, Ben Overman, Matthew Sauro, Nicholas Conlan, Ethan Schumann, Harrison Schumann

Dan Donati (Old Xavs): “Another solid performance from my boys at home. St Bernard’s are notoriously hard to play against, and have always been big around the contest, so we prepared for that as best we could. And whilst we didn’t have it all our own way out there, especially in the aerial contests, we managed to get ahead in the first half before a really strong third quarter set up the result.

“It was great to see Sam Fisher return for some minutes after a long layoff through injury, and to see Charlie Macisaac get some much-deserved reward for his consistent efforts was also really pleasing.”

Steve Alessio (St Bernard’s): “We were well beaten for two of the four quarters on the weekend. Consistency throughout the game has been our issue this season.

“It was a disappointing loss overall, compounded by Matt Foley’s early exit right at the start of the game.

“The challenge now, after this first block of 6 games, is whether we can improve? We have a great opportunity to play teams around us, and our destiny for this season will rely on our ability to perform over the next month.

“There is plenty of work to be done, and I’m confident our group of players can dig deep and produce some solid football.”

WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 7

SATURDAY MAY 30 – 2pm:

Caulfield Grammarians vs Old Trinity Kommunity TV & SEN app – 1.45pm

Old Brighton vs Old Xaverians VAFA.com.au – 1.55pm

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

St Bernard’s vs Old Haileybury Kommunity TV – 1.55pm

University Blacks vs St Kevin’s

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