St Bedes/Mentone hold on as the top teams flex – Premier C Men’s Round 16 Review

Ormond 6.4 (40) def by Fitzroy 15.20 (110)

With two rounds to play, Fitzroy are one win away from securing the Premier C Men’s minor premiership after dismantling Ormond by 70 points at E.E Gunn Reserve.

It was a composed performance by the Roys, having been required to withstand Ormond’s strong defensive challenge.

While goals came in abundance for the visitors in 2026, they had to be earned on Saturday, with Ormond’s key pillars seeking to “protect the scoreboard”, as described by coach Jack Dalton.

In that respect, “patience” was another key for Dalton’s men in securing the 70-point win.

“We stayed patient, stuck to the task and didn’t move away from how we wanted to play”, Dalton said.

From the opposing side, Ormond coach Kyle Pinto conceded the Roys are “just too good”, but was pleased with his side’s ability to maintain pressure on the ballcarrier all afternoon.

“I’m happy with the team’s effort…our pressure and ball use was good,” Pinto said.

Among the Monders’ best in the loss was Jackson Hille, who booted three goals in a polished outing for the club captain. Other goalkickers to hit the scoreboard were Mason Thatcher, Trae Thermos, and Ben Williams.

But the margin ballooned out from the 17-point deficit at quarter time, with Fitzroy putting the hammer down on Ormond in the third term to occupy a 47-point lead at the final change.

For a side that’s going to challenge for the flag, it seems as though Fitzroy still have lessons to be learnt in the final two rounds  

“It was a good step forward for us in an area we’ve been working pretty hard on… something we can take plenty of confidence from moving forward”, Dalton conceded.

Fitzroy move one game clear of Parkdale on top of the ladder, while Ormond want to finish off the season strongly and avoid bottom spot.

Hampton Rovers 19.20 (134) def Glen Eira/Old McKinnon 4.3 (27)

Hampton have recorded their biggest win for the season, with a 107-point belting of Glen Eira/Old McKinnon at Boss James Reserve.

The win was set up by a six-goal opening term, that saw the Rovers take a 33-point advantage at quarter time.

Lui Coughlin was able to attain his best return for the year in front of goal, kicking five goals in a dominant display at centre-half forward.

A nine-goal second term to the Gryphons solitary behind, put the game to rest at the main change, with Paul Carrigan’s men fine tuning a few structural and positional tactics prior to their September assault in a couple of weeks.

Supporting Coughlin up forward, William Crawford kicked truly thrice, while captain Christian Carnovale continued his consistent season out of the midfield-forward line with another two goals to his name.

Repeat entries inside forward fifty and clean possession out of the stoppage, were some of the more troubling areas of the game that confronted the Gryphons.

With two goals registered for the game up until three-quarter-time, Glen Eira enjoyed a rewarding final term with two goals courtesy of Joel Ludik and Lachlan Doyle.

Despite the difficult afternoon, Ashley and Stuart Carey were among Glen Eira/Old McKinnon’s better performers, while Jesse Maxfield, Anderson Bird and Bobby Tang created scoring opportunities and linked up well throughout the contest.

Hampton’s victory leaves them in contention for a home final and the double chance, while Glen Eira/Old McKinnon remain level with PEGS in sixth on percentage.

Mazenod 20.6 (126) def Marcellin 11.12 (78)

Despite trailing by two points at the first break, then 11 at the main change, Mazenod have pulled away in emphatic style to win by 48-points.

Coming into the fixture in eighth position, Marcellin shook Mazenod with a classy opening half that yielded them six goals to Mazenod’s five.

The visitors were propelled off the back of some run-and-carry from Adam Tomaro, Pat Curtin, and some goalkicking prowess from Lachlan Rush, and Henco Cronje.

Marcellin booted the last three goals for the first half, with some impetus for a potential second-half boilover.

Yet, as he has done for the majority of the season, Mazenod full-forward Hayden Boyce ripped the game from Marcellin’s hands with seven goals in the second half.

Boyce has been the best goalkicker in Premier C this season and furthered his credentials on Saturday with his best haul for the year, kicking 11 goals.

Boyce’s seven second half goals, helped Mazenod overturn their 11-point half-time deficit, to lead by 12-points heading into the final term. The momentum had well and truly shifted in favour of the home-side, with Boyce spearheading the onslaught off his own boot.

Just as the game seemed in the balance at three-quarter-time, Mazenod kicked away in brutal fashion with a nine-goal term to not only seal the victory from the jaws of defeat, but a percentage boosting win, nonetheless.

Marcellin should not be too disheartened by the result, having challenged the top four contenders for the best part of three quarters.

Despite the improvement, Marcellin remains eighth on the Premier C Men’s ladder, while Mazenod are one win away from securing their spot in finals action.

Old Peninsula 12.12 (84) def by St Bedes/Mentone 13.14 (92)

Despite falling short by eight points, Old Peninsula posed a significant challenge to St Bedes/Mentone on Saturday afternoon, highlighting the threat of lower-ranked sides for finals aspirants at this time of year.

The Pirates’ physicality and height was on show early in the contest, forcing St Bedes into some uncharacteristic mistakes. With that, Old Peninsula seized a handy nine-point advantage heading into the first break.

Tigers’ coach Joel McKee admitted Peninsula’s first quarter pressure was immense and was maintained throughout the day.

“Our boys certainly felt that (Peninsula’s physicality) …their pressure was fantastic right throughout the day”, McKee said.

Not to be outdone, St Bedes fought back with an impressive six-goal-to-two goal quarter to hold the upper hand in the contest at half-time by 15 points. Louis Hanson and Bennett Martin led the second-quarter charge with clever finishes.

“We were able to steady throughout the day and when we slowed things down it seemed to work a bit better for us”, McKee added.

The football became harder to win in the third quarter as both team’s pressure ramped up. However, the Tigers were able to put two more goals on the Pirates that helped them open up a 26-point and potentially match-winning lead at the final break.

From the opening ball-up of the final term, Old Peninsula threw caution to the wind with an upset of a top five side on the line. Through goals from Brendan Dunne, Bailey Payze, Cooper Denton, and Ryley Quint, the Pirates kicked five goals in the final term.

Leading by two points in time-on in the last term, St Bedes’ Tom Tyquin became the hero with a level-headed goal to put the game beyond doubt.

McKee was left relieved more than anything in the post-match.

“I don’t have many fingernails left after this one!”, he said.

PEGS 4.6 (30) def by Parkdale Vultures 17.20 (122)

Parkdale are no stranger to a percentage-boosting win in 2026 and delivered another mighty performance against PEGS on Saturday afternoon, winning by 92 points.

PEGS started positively, kicking consecutive goals to open their account in the first term but was quickly struck down by the injuries of key players Matt Barake and Mitch Baker, leaving them short on the interchange bench.

These injuries at the 20-minute mark of the first term opened the door for Parkdale to stamp their authority on the fixture, despite a relatively subdued start by the Vultures. Parkdale were able to take a 14-point lead at the first break, having been more efficient by foot than the home side.

Parkdale have been able to rattle on scores in no time this season and the second term was no different. The Vultures kicked away from PEGS with a 44-point quarter, while keeping their opposition to one behind.

Hunter Lynch, William Finch, Olly Green, Eden Honan, and Jack Vorbach, were Parkdale’s multiple goalkickers, helping their side build an insurmountable lead by half-time.

A much improved third quarter effort followed by the home side, with Rob Kerr’s team winning the quarter by five points to trail by 42 points at the three-quarter-time break.

“We focused on limiting the loose players and tightened up our structure”, Kerr said.

Yet, Parkdale capitalised on a tiring PEGS outfit in the last term to streak away again.

“We had a good third quarter winning it by a couple of points, but the boys were tiring with the lack of rotations”, Kerr added.

Despite not scoring in the final term, PEGS were impressed with the debut of Martin Wooden, who featured in the top five players on the ground for the home team.