Premier B Relegation Race Heats Up Following Big Upsets

Beaumaris 14.14 (98) def Old Melburnians 6.13 (49)

Beaumaris climbed out of the relegation zone with a crucial win over the weekend, defeating Old Melburnians by 49 points at Trevor Barker Beach Oval.

An eight-goal-to-three opening half set the game up for the Sharks, and their lead was rarely threatened.

The goals were shared around by the Sharks, with Harvey Backman and Aiden McCarthy each kicking four goals, while Lachie Templeton collected 27 disposals and 13 clearances for the OM’s.

The win moves the Sharks out of the relegation zone and up to seventh place on the ladder, while the OM’s sit in fourth spot on the ladder.

Sharks coach Josh Bourke praised the way his more experienced chargers led the way on the day.

“I thought our leadership group were amazing,” Bourke said, “We had a few debutants playing but I think that opened the chance for our leaders to lead better. They really looked after the group… but the most pleasing thing is that all four of our debutants contributed and were fantastic.”

OM’s coach James Byrne said that his team simply were outplayed.

“Plainly we were beaten by a better side on the day,” Byrne said. “We got out-worked in and out of the contest.

“Albeit we were depleted with players overseas and injuries, but we didn’t compete anywhere near to the standards that the guys set out earlier in the year.”

Old Carey 7.11 (53) def by AJAX 10.14 (74)

AJAX maintained their grip on second place on the ladder in Premier B Men’s, with a 21-point victory away to Old Carey.

Leading by just nine points at three-quarter-time, the Jackers kicked the first three goals of a tense final term to see out the win.

Jack Hart was best on ground for the visitors, collecting 20 disposals and four goals, while Max Thompson recorded 26 disposals and seven clearances for the Panthers.

AJAX remain in second spot and move a game clear of the chasing pack, while Old Carey slump to eighth place, and sit just half a game clear of the relegation zone.

Jackers coach Lachie Buszard was proud of the fight his players showed to secure the win.

“It was a great result given our outs,” Buszard said. “We were really brave. It was a very even contest for most of the day.”

“Carey has a lot of experience and while we realise they have a couple of their best missing, it was a great experience for our kids and an important victory that the group will take a lot of confidence from.”

Panthers coach Luke Giles said that his team were simply outplayed by the visitors.

“AJAX outhunted us all day,” Giles said. “We were really impressed with the way they beat us at ground level. That was probably the difference on the day.

“They outpointed us at ground level and always felt like they had stronger numbers around the footy.

“When you get beat in those areas that’s very much a work rate thing so it’s an easy fix for us.”

Williamstown CYMS 11.6 (72) def by Old Geelong 19.15 (129)

A nine-goal haul from Tom Gorrell stole the show at Fearon Reserve, as Old Geelong recorded a 57-point win over Williamstown CYMS.

The league’s leading scorer set the tone with three goals in the opening term, paving the way for the OG’s to seal the win.

Both teams had stars running through the midfield. Archie Lazzaro finished with 37 disposals and 17 clearances for the Old Geelong, while Will Bokma recorded 42 touches and 13 clearances for the CY’s.

Gorrell now sits on 40 majors for the season – 16 clear of anyone else – while the OG’s now sit just half a game outside the top four, despite being in last place three weeks ago.

Williamstown remain rooted at the foot of the ladder but are still only one game away from safety.

Old Geelong coach Nick Dixon credited his team’s strong start as the catalyst behind the win.

“It was a pleasing start,” Dixon said, “We were happy being able to control the ball early. At the start of the year, we had so many new players. We also believed the second half of our season would be better. Some of our best players are starting to come back.”

CY’s coach Con Terzoglou also conceded that the start set the tone for the afternoon.

“We were just outplayed in the first quarter,” Terzoglou said.

“We started ok, but they just got hold of us. Their stoppage game transition game were great. We could not slow them down. It’s been a consistent pattern. The reality is we need to start better and stay in games longer.”

De La Salle 10.10 (70) def by Collegians 16.12 (108)

Collegians recorded a 10^th consecutive victory to continue their perfect 2026 campaign with a 38-point win over De La Salle on the weekend.

Aside from a brief De La challenge late in the second term, the Lions were relatively untroubled all afternoon, securing a comfortable win.

Despite the result, neither team moved positions on the table, with Collegians maintaining their four-game gap atop the ladder, while De La remains in third, level with two other teams sharing a 5-5 record.             

Lions coach Jordie McKenzie said getting the basics right helped his team kick clear of the hosts after half-time.

“We started reasonably well, but in the second quarter had a really disappointing 10-15-minute period which De La got back into the game,” McKenzie said.

“It was a pleasing second half, where we got better at executing the fundamentals and finished strongly.”

De La coach Nick Hyland said that there was a lot to take away from the performance despite suffering defeat.

“They (Collegians) are clearly the benchmark of the competition, but there were some real positives,” Hyland said.

“Our ability to fight back when we were down by 5/6 goals on the scoreboard was encouraging. We found a way to get back into the contest a couple of times.

“There were patches where we moved the ball well, but then there were times where their ability to score off our turnovers was very sharp.

“But definitely there were more positives than negatives.”

Old Camberwell 8.11 (59) def Old Ivanhoe 6.8 (44)

Old Camberwell ground out a memorable win against Old Ivanhoein Round 10, coming from behind to win by 15 points at Gordon Barnard Reserve.

After failing to kick a goal in the opening term, the Wellers managed five of the last six goals of the game, turning a 13-point half time deficit into a close victory.

Sam Veitch was immense for the Wellers, with 42 disposals and 15 clearances, while Patrick Naish led the way with three goals for the Hoers.

The result leaves the Wellers sitting outside the top four on percentage only, while Old Ivanhoe remain in the relegation zone, still half-a-game away from safety.

Old Camberwell’s Neil Connell praised the strong effort of his side, while Old Ivanhoe’s Xavier Naish said their ball movement kept his side in the game, but they eventually gave way to the Wellers’ midfield dominance.

“Credit to Old Camberwell. They were really disciplined and tidy around the contest,” Naish said.

“Our ball movement was impressive during the first half and we were able to access the fat side of our forward 50 a number of times, but through the middle we were beaten in contest work. The ball lived in their forward half.”