Tight top four as Kew & St Mary’s Salesian impress

St Mary’s Salesian 23.18 (156) def Brunswick 8.2 (50) 

In what Saints coach Heath Chipperfield called their “most complete performance of the season,” St Mary’s Salesian defeated Brunswick by a dominant 106-point margin.  

The side came out flying after the bye week, with 11 scoring shots in the first term, taking an immediate five-goal lead over Brunswick.  
 
Brunswick lifted their scoring output in the second term, although they couldn’t reduce the lead. By the third term, St Mary’s defence had taken back over the game, allowing them to break away for another 100-point-plus victory.  

St Mary’s offence was in no small part aided by deputy vice-captain Hamish MacMillan, who kicked 10 goals of his own for the day.

When asked about the dominant forward performance, Chipperfield said he “was really happy for Hamish. Got himself super fit in the off-season and continues to grow as a young leader at the club. Think he’s kicked 24 goals in his last four games after coming back from an injury.”

Chipperfield said the win was based around their ability to win contest and continue at a high work rate despite the extensive lead, enabling them to keep the ball moving offensively.

Chipperfield gave further plaudits to his core of young leaders, Ben Tricarico’s ability to get on the scoreboard despite a heavy tag, and Jack Contencin’s scoring output. One final shoutout was given to Angus Molden returning to the side, with the coach saying, “also fantastic to have another leader in Angus Molden back in the side who returned from injury yesterday and looked like he hadn’t missed a beat.”

With the win, the Saints find themselves two wins outside of the top four. With games against Prahran and Parkside in the coming weeks, St Mary’s will have several upcoming eight-point games and a number of hard wins required to break through into the finals bracket.

While next week Brunswick hope to work towards a winning season when they play against UHS-VU at home in Round 15.  

Kew 16.11 (107) def Parkside 8.9 (57) 

Despite the two teams being neck and neck on the ladder, Kew managed to dominate Parkside on the weekend, ending the game as 50-point victors.

The Bears controlled the game early, going nine goals to one in the first half, while the Devils managed to hit the scoreboard in the second half, but it wasn’t enough to break down the lead.

Kew kept up the pace and can now push for a top two finish after the significant victory.  

Parkside coach Rick Frost was quick to give Kew their praise, “Kew, they were great… they owned the contested ball and took the middle of the ground with great connective handball forward of centre.” 

Identifying his side’s need to work on their contested ball if they were going to meet future matchups head-on. Frost was still able to give some praise to his players, acknowledging “Joel Stephens was strong in the ruck in the second half, while Louis Grist was good, as was Corey McKay.”

With the result, there is now a three-way tie for second place, with Prahran, Parkside, and Kew all matched for nine wins. Percentage will continue to be important in the run-up to the finals.

Kew will play all four bottom four sides coming up, building a great opportunity to lock in a home finals position.

While Parkside is about to face Oakleigh and St Mary’s in the coming weeks, two sides still desperate to keep in touch with the top four. If Parkside can return to winning form against both sides, they may be able to solidify their spot in the top four.  

Monash Blues 4.0 (24) def by Prahran 28.17 (185) 

In the biggest win of the week, Prahran were able to secure a 161-point victory over the Monash Blues.

The Two Blues started the game on fire, 40-0 in the first term and as the importance of percentage wasn’t lost on the Prahran coaching staff, the scoring pressure kept up.

With an end score of 185 points, while keeping the Blues to 24, the Two Blues have been able to keep their second spot on the ladder despite solid competition.  

Prahran assistant coach Patrick Marks was very impressed by his midfield and forward combinations, he said, “Rory Brodie rucking to Mackenzie Mayne in the middle were a hard combo to stop, plus Taylor Bamford and Josh Steffanutti were kicking goals and setting them up all day.”

With ten goals between Stefanutti and Bamford, alongside 11 other goal scorers, Prahran was clearly on top offensively.

Marks did acknowledge Monash’s availability issues, and their ability to put in a massive effort throughout the day.  

Prahran will be up against St Mary’s Salesian next week, who are coming off a big win.

Both sides will have their place in finals in mind, as Prahran aim to break away in the top two and St Mary’s continuing to fight for a place in the post-season.

 The Blues will be travelling in Round 14 to play UHS-VU, in what may decide who gets stuck in the relegation bracket.  

Preston Bullants 23.12 (150) def UHS-VU 10.4 (64)  

Preston continued their undefeated streak with a comfortable win over University High School – Victoria University.

The Bullants took a 56-point lead into the half-time break and didn’t look like giving it up. While UHS-VU continued to hit the scoreboard, their 10-goals couldn’t compare to Preston’s 150 points, eventually resulting in the 86-point win to Preston.

Preston are now 13-0 for this season and all but lock away a finals spot with five weeks to go in the season.  

Six multiple goal scorers for the Bullants showed their offensive dominance, particularly Matthew Brennan with six goals, alongside Tom Hill and captain Alex Johnston with three each.

Preston go for 14 wins straight next week when they host Brunswick. UHS-VU will be hosting Monash in what may be the battle to avoid relegation.  

Old Yarra Cobras 13.6 (84) def by Oakleigh 22.17 (149)  

Old Yarra hit the scoreboard well against the finals-contending Oakleigh, but it wasn’t enough, being outpaced by the Krushers who end with a 65-point win.

The Cobras won the first term, with an efficient five goals to their opponents’ three goals from eight scoring shots. They continued to score well, but Oakleigh took over from the second term, tidying up their accuracy and ending with 22 goals and 39 shots on goal for the day.  

Old Yarra have struggled in 2026, but coach Nathan Monaco was impressed with the performance this week, he said it was “a really solid performance for such an inexperienced team. Nine players with less than 15 games of senior footy.”

Monaco identified his side’s capacity to be stronger offensively this week but acknowledged there was still plenty of defensive experience needed, “we went goal for goal with them for the most part, but they got a hold of us in transition far too often, which is tough to defend with so many players that are still trying to find their feet.”

James O’Neill was a standout performer, Monaco said he “has been huge since coming into the seniors, another really good game in the ruck.” 

The Cobras have a tough run for the last five weeks of the year but will hope to use this energy to get a win on the table, with next week’s home game against Kew.

While Oakleigh will hope to keep in touch with the top four and an eight-point game against Parkside next week. The Krushers remain four points outside of finals contention for now.