2026 VAFA Finals Fixture – August 22-23
The fixture has been released for the Week 1 of the 2026 VAFA Finals Series, featuring Men’s Thirds Semi Finals, as well as Premier B, Divisional and Holmesglen U19 Premier
Snowdogs relegated, but who will join them? William Buck Premier Men’s Round 17 Review
Half of the William Buck Premier Men’s relegation race has been resolved, but three clubs will face a very anxious final day of the home & away season, while the minor premiership also still hangs in the balance.
Let’s take a closer look back at Round 17 of action:
It was heartbreak for St Bernard’s, as the Snowdogs were run over late by Old Brighton at the Snake Pit, confirming their relegation back to Premier B in 2027.
The Dogs needed to win to keep their slim survival hopes alive, and things looked ominous early when the Tonners (who were sharper with the ball in hand) seized control with the opening 4 goals of the game, before the hosts finally got on the board via Luke Di Lizio 23 minutes in.
He added another 6 minutes into the second term to slash the deficit to 10 points, as the Snowdogs found their groove and started to control the contest and dominate territory off the back of that.
They racked up 18 Inside 50s to 11, giving the reigning champs a taste of their own medicine by kicking 4 goals from Turnovers as part of their impressive 6-goal-to-2 quarter – Matthew Watson and Ferg McNicol booting 2 goals apiece as the Dogs snatched an 8-point half-time lead.
Old Brighton’s inefficiency by foot continued in the third term, as both teams struggled to hit targets and chain possession together.
However, the Snowdogs were more efficient at punishing turnovers, booting 3.0 to 0.4 off opposition errors as the home faithful started to believe in another upset, with their team adding 3 unanswered goals to have kicked 9.3 to 2.8 across the middle two quarters, and heading to the last huddle with a very handy 22-point lead.
Could they hang on in the final term?
It turned out to be an Old Brighton masterclass, as they finally rediscovered their A-game. Dominant out of the middle, they took territory and repeatedly either hit their forward targets or set up behind the ball and prevented St Bernard’s from escaping their defensive half.
Goals to Jordie Segar (5 minutes in) and Jamie Hope (8 minutes) cut the deficit back to 8 points, as the Dogs tried valiantly to break the Tonners’ grip. Sam Flockart added another major 13 minutes in to level the scores, as Old Brighton repeatedly peppered their Forward 50 in a quarter that would ultimately deliver 26 Inside 50s to 8.
A couple of behinds saw the visitors edge in front before the decisive goal finally came at the 26-minute mark, when the Tonners forced a turnover from a kick-in. Jordie Segar threw a boot at the ball while being tackled, and it popped out fortuitously to an unmarked Finn Campigli, who steadied and goaled to make it a 9-point margin.
Devastation for the gallant Snowdogs, who battled their hearts out but couldn’t hold back the red and blue tide in the final term, conceding 4.8 to no score, to ultimately fall by 10 points and seal their fate.
After three years in the top flight, the undefeated 2023 Premier B champions will return to the second tier in 2027, having gone 5-13, 7-10-1 and 4-13 with one game remaining in 2026. All up, that’s a 16-36-1 record.
But it doesn’t tell the true story of their competitiveness, given they have lost 5 games by 10 points or less this season (and 7 in total across the three campaigns). Win even two of those five this year, and they would be in 7th spot right now.
However, honourable losses ultimately don’t count on the ladder, and there will be no Great Escape for a second straight year.
Ben Overman was best for the Dogs for a second straight week, collecting 30 disposals and 13 Rebound 50s as he continually turned the Tonners back. Harry Schumann finished with 26 touches, while Luke Said also had an influence with 21 disposals, 8 clearances and a goal.
Sam Linder continued his incredible form for Old Brighton, recording another 37 disposals (15 contested), 7 marks, 8 Rebound 50s and 7 Inside 50s. He has had 38, 36 and 37 disposals in his last 3 appearances and has a major role to play in his team’s premiership defence in the coming weeks.
Luca Macnab finished with 29 touches, 4 clearances and 10 Inside 50s, while Ollie Goodger, Felix Flockart and Tom Burnell were also amongst Old Brighton’s best.
Barring a final round disaster for SKOB, the Tonners will qualify fourth and face St Kevin’s in a cut-throat First Semi Final. Next week, they will complete their tune-up for September with a testing challenge – the plucky Fields at Glen Huntly Park – while the Snowdogs can play spoiler and potentially drag Old Trinity back down to Premier B with them.
THE FINAL EQUATION:
St Bernard’s: Old Trinity (H) Will finish 9th or 10th – Relegated to Premier B 2027
Old Brighton Caulfield (A) Will finish 3rd or 4th – either way, it’s a 1st Semi Final vs St Kevin’s
Old Brighton 10.17 (77)
St Bernard’s 10.7 (67)
GOALS:
OB: Burnell, Hope & F.Campigli 2; Segar, Dick, Richardson & S.Flockart 1.
STB: McNicol 3; Watson & Di Lizio 2; Said, Papley & Belci 1.
BEST:
OB: Sam Linder, Luca Macnab, Oliver Goodger, Felix Flockart, Thomas Burnell, James Hope
STB: Ben Overman, Harrison Schumann, Luke Said, Fergus McNicol, Zac Overman, Luke Di Lizio
Marcel Bruin (Old Brighton): “Good to come away with the win on the weekend, given it’s one of the toughest road trips in the VAFA out at the Snake Pit.
“We aimed to start well and try and drain any momentum and felt we did, although Bernard’s started to get rolling at the back end of the first quarter.
“Second and third quarter, Bernard’s got to work, and were very impressive across the ground, taking away our front half football. ‘Ses’ (Steve Alessio) had them humming throughout the third quarter, and we were outplayed for 25 minutes of the term. We played a bit haphazardly, although we were able to create some shots on goal towards the end and peg back some momentum to take into the final quarter.
“It was a big lift from the group, particularly the mids; they got on top and won clearances to a more active forward line. We were able to keep the pressure on Bernard’s inside our front half, grinding them down with some eventual scores.
“We were able to hang on for a good win and another step towards the last round and finals after that.
“Sam Linder was very good again, as were Luca Macnab and Tom Burnell. Felix Flockart lifted through the second half and had a big influence on our shift, and Olli Goodger was terrific on the wing.”
Steve Alessio (St Bernard’s): “Once again, our start to the game put us in a challenging position. We finally got our heads into the game and worked our way back into the contest, wrestling back the lead at half time and building on it in the third quarter.
“However, Old Brighton are a quality outfit, and they managed to get centre Bounce and stoppage clearance advantage in the last quarter and were able to pin us in our defensive half for the majority of that last quarter and capitalise on the scoreboard.
“I can’t fault the endeavour of our playing group, overcoming challenges throughout the season and showing resilience to provide a contest and compete at Premier level; it has been a pleasure to coach and see the growth in these players.
“The last round versus Old Trinity, I’m sure, will be typical of the way we have approached our footy this season.”
University Blacks successfully secured their place in William Buck Premier Men’s next season with a hard-fought 15-point win over Old Scotch at Camberwell Sportsground, in a game eerily similar to the contest at the Snake Pit.
The Blacks struck first, with one of the quickest goals of the VAFA season as Joel Ernest pounced on a spillage and slotted a magnificent goal from deep in the right forward pocket just 21 seconds into the game.
The hosts quickly recovered and got their intercept game going, allowing them to control territory and play the game predominantly in their front half of the ground. Still trailing by a point approaching time-on, the Cards finally got reward for their territorial dominance and slammed on 4 goals in 10 minutes during time-on to kick away to a 23-point quarter-time lead.
But the Blacks didn’t panic and stabilised the situation early in the second term with goals from Jack Drummond and Charlie Skipper keeping them in touch.
However, the Cards kicked again, booting 3 goals in 3 minutes (2 of them to Henry Brown) to suddenly open a 6-goal lead at the 15-minute mark, which grew as large as 38 points at the 21-minute mark of the second term.
The visitors needed to respond once again, and their most dangerous forward Jack Drummond obliged after a Scotch kick-in was picked off and turned over, allowing Harry Broderick to hit him on the chest 25 metres out.
Drummond’s third goal was followed shortly after with a goal assist, after he marked just forward of the wing and launched it long to to Matthew Grocott at the top of the goalsquare. Two goals in two minutes and the Blacks were back in the contest.
Leon Alao’s front-and-centre crumb at the 32-minute mark gave Blacks a third consecutive goal, and they headed to the major break with their tails up and a deficit that had been halved to 18 points.
They completely dominated the inside game in the third term (Clearances 20 to 6) and kept peppering away without taking full toll. Grocott added his second goal before four consecutive behinds saw them edge ever closer. The two teams went goal-for-goal late in the quarter, and it was Old Scotch clinging to a 7-point advantage at the last huddle.
Old Scotch managed to even up the contest in the last term, but their Kick Efficiency of just 44% ultimately proved costly as they repeatedly coughed up possession, allowing the Blacks to generate repeated Forward 50 entries.
Seb McNamara levelled the scores once again with a goal 7 minutes in, before a tense 16-minute period where neither team could find a major.
The gamebreaker finally came 23 minutes in when Jack Drummond bobbed up once again to mark on the lead and slot his third goal, and when Lachie Knight ran into an open goal moments later, the Blacks were officially safe in the top-flight for season 2027.
This come-from-behind 15-point win saw the Blacks leapfrog the Cardinals and take fifth spot on the ladder as the ‘best of the rest’ with one round remaining. Given they have repeatedly challenged the top teams this season, it is a well-deserved position.
Ruck Sam Conway was incredible once again for Uni Blacks, finishing with 38 disposals, 67 hit-outs and 15 clearances, including a massive last quarter which saw him lead his team to victory with 13 touches, 16 hit-outs and 5 clearances.
Harry Broderick also continued his outstanding form, racking up 34 disposals (21 contested), 8 tackles and 11 clearances, while Jack Cassidy had 24, 7 tackles and 5 clearances.
It was a disappointing final term for Old Scotch, who have now dropped 3 of their past 4 matches, but will also be safe in Premier Men’s next season after recovering from their 1-6 start to win 5 of their next 6, before fading again in the run home.
Quinn Spencer was judged best afield for the Cards, with 23 disposals and 8 One-Percenters in a team-first performance, while Henry Brown (29 touches and 2 goals), Alex Noblet & Hugo Bromell (28) were all busy as well.
Both teams will look to finish their campaigns on a positive note this week, with Blacks having the chance to directly shape relegation when they host the Bloods, who must win to have any hope of surviving, while the Cardinals would love to disrupt Xavs’ finals preparations when they clash at Toorak Park.
THE FINAL EQUATION:
Uni Blacks: Old Haileybury (H) Can finish 5th or 6th
Old Scotch: Old Xavs (A) Can finish 5th or 6th
University Blacks 13.14 (92)
Old Scotch 12.5 (77)
GOALS:
UB: Grocott & Drummond 3; Knight & Skipper 2; Ernest, Alao & McNamara 1.
OS: Robenstone 3; Symons, Brown & Nancarrow 2; Fergusson, Lean & Milner 1.
BEST:
UB: Sam Conway, Jack Cassidy, Harry Broderick, Matthew Grocott, Ben Stephenson, Seb McNamara
OS: Quinn Spencer, Jack Brown, Alex Noblet, Harry Dixon, Charlie Cormack, Will Townsend
Dale Bower (Uni Blacks): “Old Scotch played very well early in the game. We were a step off with our come-forward pressure and probably coughed the ball up a little too often.
“We were 38 points down at around the 20-minute mark of the second quarter, and our boys responded by kicking 3 late goals before half-time.
“In the second half, we got on top in most areas of the game, pulled back their lead, then created one for ourselves late in a great performance.
“Sam Conway was amazing in the ruck, and he had plenty of help with many guys really stepping up when it was needed.”
Mark Gnatt (Old Scotch): “We played some really good footy for the first 50 minutes – we were able to neutralise pretty well at stoppage, and our kicking efficiency was positive.
“However, with 3 goals late in the second term, Blacks found some momentum coming into half time. The game then flipped in the second half. Blacks dominated the contest and clearances, resulting in +20 inside 50s in the second half – they thoroughly deserved the victory.
“Our kicking efficiency after quarter time was poor as we kept giving the ball back to them – this will be a major focus over summer!
“A shoutout to Quinn Spencer and Jack Brown, who stood tall in the backline and to Caleb Nancarrow, who returned after a long layoff due to injury and took an absolute hanger that is now doing the rounds on the socials.”
St Kevin’s returned to the winners’ list and ensured that Old Trinity will have an anxious final round after they led the T’s virtually all afternoon at Daley Oval.
Archie Dollman booted the opening goal of the contest just 28 seconds in after St Kevin’s surged it forward and he bent a brilliant banana between the posts from deep in the left forward pocket.
It was a highly-contested yet free scoring opening term, with both teams applying plenty of pressure around the ball, and despite Old Trinity’s tackling efforts, it was SKOB more adept at getting the ball from the inside to the outside and going their way.
17 Inside 50s to 9 was the result, but the T’s looked dangerous when they got it forward and managed to boot 3 goals from limited opportunities – Dom Payman accounting for 2 of them, as SKOB headed to the first change with a 9-point lead.
The T’s leading goalkicker added a third 6 minutes into the second term, after Jack Darmody had opened the scoring with another first-minute SKOB goal. The two teams then exchanged goals in another evenly fought quarter of football that saw them add 3 goals apiece – St Kevin’s holding a 12-point half-time lead.
They quickly doubled that advantage with goals to Jacob Koschitzke and Doug Kerr inside the first 3 minutes of the third term, before Old Trinity managed to challenge SKOB around the contest and tilt the territory battle their way.
Yet it was the visitors capitalising on the counter, and after Jack Behnk and Doug Kerr added further majors approaching time-on, the margin had ballooned to 36 points.
Up stepped Dom Payman again. The Trinity talisman stood tall and marked at the top of the goalsquare, then was held in a contest shortly after, and his back-to-back goals in the space of 3 minutes reduced the margin to 24 points.
A 50-metre penalty to Charlie Comer saw him slot another almost 30 minutes in, and suddenly the T’s were back in the game, trailing by just 19 points at the last change.
But St Kevin’s steadied via Jack Darmody’s goal 4 minutes into the final term, which re-established their 4-goal buffer, and when Ollie Gill snapped truly 7 minutes later, the result was put beyond doubt.
In the end, it was a 31-point victory for SKOB, who consolidated their place in third spot, one game plus 7% clear of Old Brighton.
Tom Jok has been a welcome return for St Kevin’s fans, and he slotted seamlessly back into the line-up in his first game since Round 12, finishing with 23 disposals, 6 marks and 5 clearances in a performance that will have warmed Anthony Lynch’s heart.
Jack Mahony (30 disposals, 6 clearances and a goal) and Jack Darmody (14 disposals and 3 goals) were also amongst SKOB’s best, alongside Liam Gunson, who finished with 34 touches, 9 marks, 6 Rebound 50s and 7 Inside 50s. Billy Coates was a dominant force once again, collecting 24 disposals, 68 hit-outs, 11 clearances, a goal and 12 score assists.
Sam Barendregt was recognised by the Old Trinity coaching staff for his 17 disposals and 5 Rebounds, while Christos Manoussakis led their ball-winners with 26 touches, 7 tackles and 3 clearances, and Dom Payman was superb up forward once again, finishing with 5 goals to give him 35 majors from 12 games this season.
Old Trinity now head into the final round with their destiny in their own hands. Defeat wooden-spooners St Bernard’s at the Snake Pit and they’ll be safe in Premier Men’s next season. But drop the trickiest away game in the league, and they’ll need to rely on Old Haileybury losing or Caulfield losing by so much that they drop about 5% and slip behind the T’s on 22 points.
St Kevin’s will face Old Brighton in the First Semi Final. But first, a fantastic opportunity to test themselves against the league-leaders on the eve of September, when they host the Blues at TH King!
THE FINAL EQUATION:
St Kevin’s: Uni Blues (H) Will finish 3rd or 4th
Old Trinity: St Bernard’s (A) Can finish 7th to 9th
St Kevin’s 14.16 (100)
Old Trinity 10.9 (69)
GOALS:
STK: Darmody 3; Koschitzke & Kerr 2; Mahony, Pfeiffer, Bryan, Gill, Coates, Dollman & Behnk 1.
OT: Payman 5; Bowler 2; McGlashan, Comer & Chard 1.
BEST:
STK: Tom Jok, Jack Darmody, Jack Mahony, Archie Dollman, Billy Coates, Callum Jones
OT: Sam Barendregt, Dom Payman, Hugo McGlashan, Campbell Dytor, Sam Phillips, Flynn McNamara
Anthony Lynch (St Kevin’s): “Old Trinity were much improved from the last time we played them, and were totally committed to the contest all day.
“We had patches of the game that we really liked the look of, but equally, we still need to tidy up some of our fundamentals.
“We brought six players back into the team, so we looked a little disjointed at times, but hopefully we can now build some synergy over the next couple of weeks together.
“It was great to have our skipper Tom Jok back, and I thought he had a real influence over the result. Archie Dollman also continues to have a really big impact in his first 5-6 games of senior footy.”
Donald McDonald (Old Trinity): “I was pleased with our effort after an indifferent performance last week. St Kevin’s were just surer with possession and won more of the ball than us. Even though Inside 50s were close, which was a positive, I felt their ball use and various options up forward gave them the advantage, which was reflected on the scoreboard.
“Our leaders in Christos Manoussakis, Hugo McGlashan and Louis Davidson really led the way, and Dom Payman has been such a positive presence up forward for us.
“We have exposed many players to senior football this season, which will help us moving forward. Some of our players have really stood up under real pressure. Their commitment to their training and game-day performances has really stood out. James Ingpen, Campbell Dytor, and Charlie Comer have played nearly every game and will form a strong core of our team for years to come.
“The last game of the season with plenty to play for is what makes the VAFA such an interesting competition to be involved in. There is something worth fighting for, whether you are bottom or top of the ladder.
“St Bernard’s have been rock-solid, whereas we had a terrific patch earlier on, but once we lost some key players, it really impacted on our ability to win more games.
“It is a great challenge for us and a great venue for us to finish our season.”
University Blues bounced back from last week’s shock loss at the Snake Pit to take care of business against Caulfield Grammarians at Melbourne University.
The Fields started brightly, kicking 4 of the first 5 goals to lead by 18 points midway through the opening term, before the Blues responded with the final two majors of the quarter to close within one straight kick at quarter time.
It was a pleasing start for Caulfield, who managed to match the Blues on the inside, with Hugh McKenzie, Jack Ellwood, Quinn Cooper and Ollie Lowe all winning multiple clearances in the opening term.
That trend continued in the second quarter, but it was in the skies that the league-leaders started to exert an influence, taking 10 Contested Marks to 2 for the term, and 7 Intercept Marks to 1 as the Fields repeatedly turned it over between the arcs.
In the absence of suspended league-leading goalkicker James Stewart, his fellow danger men Ben Townson and Sam Grimley stepped up to propel the Blues to a 14-point lead, before Caulfield’s Flynn Ellis kicked his first goal at the top level to reduce it to a 9-point half-time margin in a spirited contest.
Ellis then popped up with a toe-poke on the goal line to add his second goal 4 minutes into the third term, and when Will Vesely drifted in to take a superb, courageous mark in the right forward pocket, then slotted it from the angle, the Fields were back in the lead with 10 minutes gone.
But as has been the case all season, the Blues responded. Back-to-back goals to Mojwok Akoch and 19-year-old debutante Ted Bain, who swooped on a front-and-centre crumb, put the league-leaders two goals up once again.
Then Ben Townson added his third entering time-on, followed by a late goal to Cam O’Shea – his first for the season – and suddenly the Blues had cracked the game open, taking a 27-point lead into the three-quarter time huddle. Their ability to score from stoppage was the difference, cancelling out some sloppy disposal that saw them go at just 34% by foot for the quarter.
Uni Blues’ ability to effectively hammer home their advantage when they are in control has been a feature of this team in 2026, and they did it again early in the last term, booting three goals in 4.5 minutes to put the contest to bed.
Sam Grimley accounted for two of them, reinforcing their remarkable depth in strikepower that allows them to effortlessly cover the competition’s leading goalscorer without missing a beat.
The Fields kept fighting as they always do, kicking 3 of the next 4 goals, but the damage was done as the Blues cruised to a 42-point win – their 14th of the season, leaving them 3.28% ahead of Old Xavs in the race for the minor premiership.
Jack O’Sullivan was best afield for the Blues, collecting 22 disposals and 10 marks. Cam O’Shea, Jack Hayter, Archie Bain and Darcy Chirgwin all found plenty of the footy, while 5 goals from Sam Grimley and 4 from Ben Townson finished their work.
Pat Fairlie was tireless for the Fields, racking up another 39 disposals (24 contested), 9 tackles, 10 clearances and a goal in a stellar performance. Oscar Roberts finished with 37, 13 marks and 9 Rebound 50s down back, while Hamish McInerney’s 26-disposal game also drew praise from Caulfield’s coaching staff.
So, the Fields remain in the same delicate position they were prior to the weekend – just half-a-game clear of the drop zone, and with the opportunity to guarantee their own safety if they can roll the reigning premiers at home in the final round.
If not, they’ll be reliant on Old Haileybury or Old Trinity losing, with the margin between the T’s and Fields critical in what would become a percentage battle to avoid relegation should they both lose and the Bloods win. Caulfield currently holds a slender 4.33% advantage, but that can quickly evaporate in the craziness and pressure of a final afternoon scrap for survival.
It promises to be a nervous afternoon for Fields, T’s and Bloods fans this Saturday!
THE FINAL EQUATION:
Uni Blues: St Kevin’s (A) Can finish 1st or 2nd – either way, it’s a 2nd Semi Final vs Old Xavs
Caulfield: Old Brighton (H) Can finish 7th to 9th
University Blues 16.17 (113)
Caulfield Grammarians 11.5 (71)
GOALS:
UB: Grimley 5; Townson 4; T.Bain 2; O’Shea, Hayter, Akoch, Curran & W.Furphy 1.
CG: Loughnan, Moren & Ellis 2; Vesely, Fairlie, Lowe, Lakman & Clancy 1.
BEST:
UB: Jack O’Sullivan, Joe Furphy, Ben Townson, Brad Ebert, Jeremy Goddard, Sam Grimley
CG: Patrick Fairlie, Oscar Roberts, Hamish McInerney, Flynn Ellis, Chris Pietsch, Charlie Eerhard
Matt Smith (Uni Blues): “Caulfield were able to get the better of the inside contest early in the game and put our backs under a lot of pressure.
“From half time on, our contest work improved a lot, and we were able to start moving the ball freely and controlling territory.
“Inaccuracy was an issue again, but it was pleasing to have 30+ shots on and find different avenues to goal. Great to have another 2 debutantes for the club in Ted Bain and Patty O’Sullivan, who both looked right at home, and both played their roles well.
“We have a big game to round out the home and away season, which will be a great primer for finals.”
Paul Satterley (Caulfield): “The Blues were just far more effective when going inside 50. They have a very well-balanced side, and it just got away from us in the second half of the third term, and we could not close the gap.
“Our pressure was pleasing, and my lads continue to fight and scrap games out to the end. Patty Fairlie was outstanding from start to finish. Oscar Roberts, Hamish McInerney and Charlie Eerhard all worked hard for us.
“We will work on our connection exiting D50 and just generally freshen up. We will welcome back a few lads who missed this game.”
The losses to Old Trinity and Caulfield opened the door for Old Haileybury to leap out of the drop zone, but they couldn’t find a way past Old Xaverians at Haileybury College.
The Bloods started strongly again and won the inside 50s in the first quarter, 18-10. However, they struggled to convert their forward entries as efficiently as Xavs, who kicked 4 goals to 3 and led by 6 points at the end of the first quarter.
It was all the visitors early in the second term, with Xavs peppering away for the first 8 scores of the quarter, as they took shaded Old Haileybury in contested footy, got it out into open space (34 Uncontested Marks to 11), and then successfully intercepted the Bloods when it came back the other way.
The result was a 6-goal-to-2 quarter that saw Old Xaverians burst away to a 37-point half-time lead – Tex Wanganeen causing havoc up forward to have 4 goals on the board by the major break.
The possession count remained heavily skewed Old Xavs’ way once again in the third quarter, with Xavs chaining the ball via hand and picking their way through traffic, as well as hitting up uncontested marking options to retain possession.
But credit to Old Haileybury, who delivered the first two goals of the second half. Both went to clever forward Cody Goonewardene, who has had an impressive season in the top-flight, with 19 goals from his 13 games, including six 2-goal hauls.
His back-to-back majors in the space of a minute – the first from a downfield free kick, and the second from a clever snap – breathed some hope back into the Bloods, closing the gap to 24 points.
The next goal grew in importance the longer the game had to wait for it. It eventually came at the start of time-on, when Tex Wanganeen centred the ball to Stirling Phipps-Parsons at the top of the goalsquare. Charlie Macisaac added another two minutes later, and the Haileybury fightback was effectively snuffed out before it could gather any steam.
Leading by 38 points at the last change, Xavs continued to pepper the goals for minor scores, before the Bloods pulled a goal back the other way, courtesy of Charlie Harrop.
But the final result was never in doubt, as Ed Delany, Tex Wanganeen and Ollie Sestan kicked the final 3 goals of the day as Xavs kept their minor premiership hopes alive with a comfortable 54-point win.
Wanganeen finished with 5 goals as he shapes up as yet another X-factor for Xavs come September, while fellow medium forward Stirling Phipps-Parsons was excellent with 24 touches, 7 marks, 4 tackles, 5 clearances and a goal. Ollie Sestan is yet another front-half talent at Dan Donati’s disposal, and he collected 19 disposals, 14 marks and a goal, while Campbell Lane continued to stuff the stats sheet with another 33 touches.
Debutante Jake Smith, a very accomplished premiership player for Werribee in the VFL, made his Old Haileybury debut as he returns from injury ahead of the Bees’ impending finals campaign. Having previously played a couple of Under 19s games for Willy CYMS on his way up through the ranks in 2023, he slotted in seamlessly at Premier Men’s level, finishing with 29 disposals, 5 tackles, 6 clearances, 5 Rebounds and 5 Inside 50s.
Jasper Russell (29 disposals), Charlie Harrop (27 and a goal), Max Sievers and Durras Seccull (22 apiece) also found plenty of the Sherrin for the Bloods.
So, Old Haileybury will enter the final round half-a-game from safety. To survive, they will need to defeat Uni Blacks at Melbourne Uni and hope that one of Caulfield (vs Old Brighton) or Trinity (vs St Bernard’s) stumbles at the last hurdle.
Meanwhile, Old Xaverians will tune up for a September with a clash against Old Scotch, before heading for a Second Semi Final appointment with Uni Blues. Will it be as minor premiers? They currently trail the Blues by 3.28%, so it’s definitely still a live possibility heading into the final day of the home and away season.
THE FINAL EQUATION:
Old Xavs: Old Scotch (H) Will finish 1st or 2nd – either way, it’s a 2nd Semi Final vs Uni Blues
Old Haileybury: Uni Blacks (A) Can finish 7th to 10th
Old Xaverians 15.18 (108)
Old Haileybury 8.6 (54)
GOALS:
OX: Wanganeen 5; C.Macisaac & Delany 3; Phipps-Parsons, Spralja, Sestan & Fisher 1.
OH: Goonewardene 3; Yates 2; Blight, C.Harrop & Riley 1.
BEST:
OX: Tex Wanganeen, Stirling Phipps-Parsons, Oliver Sestan, Charlie Westcott, Connor Dunne, Thomas Dunne
OH: Jake Smith, Lachlan Riley, Charlton Harrop, Max Sievers, Jack Kennedy, Cody Goonewardene
Dan Donati (Old Xavs): “We really enjoyed heading out to the college to play Old Haileybury this weekend. The ground was in incredible condition, and it was a nice motivating factor for the boys heading into this one.
“It wasn’t the prettiest of games, and OH are always difficult to navigate. We managed a solid half-time lead, and managed the game pretty well in the second half.
“Importantly, we got through without injury, got valuable minutes into those that needed them and managed to get a solid win on the board against a really competitive Old Haileybury.”
Guy Martyn (Old Haileybury): “We’ve had a pretty tough three-week stretch against SKOB, Brighton and now Xavs — three sides ramping up for finals and, particularly with Xavs, getting pretty close to full strength. Their midfield is obviously very strong, and I thought their class and experience showed on the weekend.
“Similar to the last couple of weeks, there were patches and quarters where we were really proud of how competitive we were against one of the top sides. But against teams like Xavs, you just can’t afford costly mistakes because they punish you so quickly. Their ability to move the ball from one end to the other is as good as anyone in the competition. They work incredibly hard, they’re quick, they spread well, use the ball well and share the workload. When we turned it over, they made us pay.
“On the flip side, when we had our opportunities, we just couldn’t quite convert them onto the scoreboard. So, while we can take some positives out of the way we competed for periods, ultimately their class, experience and cohesion shone through, and they were deserved winners.
“It obviously sets up a massive game for us against Uni Blacks this week. Our fate isn’t completely in our own hands — a win combined with one of a couple of other results going our way would be enough for us to stay up. But there’s no point worrying about what’s happening elsewhere. Our job is pretty simple: front up against Uni Blacks, find a way to win and then see what’s happened around the grounds when we walk off on Saturday.”
WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S – ROUND 18
Saturday, August 29 – 2pm:
University Blacks vs Old Haileybury 1.45pm – VAFA.com.au & SEN app
St Bernard’s vs Old Trinity 1.55pm – Kommunity TV
Old Xaverians vs Old Scotch 1.55pm – VAFA TV & Kommunity TV
St Kevin’s vs University Blues
Caulfield Grammarians vs Old Brighton
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