Collegians dominate & Beaumaris progress – Premier B Men’s Finals Week 1 Review & Preliminary Final Preview

Collegians 20.9 (129) def De La Salle 12.5 (77)

Collegians have secured promotion to William Buck Premier Men’s for 2027 and progressed through to this year’s Premier B Men’s Grand Final, defeating De La Salle in the Second Semi-Final by 52 points.

The Lions burst out of the blocks, taking a 21-point lead at quarter time, and were never troubled.

The goals were shared around, with Alexander Lukic leading the way with five majors while Samuel Parsons booted four.

Nicholas Leontaritis kicked three goals for De La, while Luke Healy and Adrian Indovino both kicked two.

The victory allows Collegians to enjoy the week off as they prepare for the Grand Final, while also bouncing straight back into Premier Men’s after being relegated last year.

De La meanwhile is still alive in 2026, but will now face Beaumaris in a Preliminary Final this Sunday to determine who goes through to the Grand Final.

Collegians coach Jordie McKeznie said that while it was pleasing to be promoted back into the top flight, the job is not yet done.

“It’s a great accomplishment for our club,” McKenzie said. “But we’re going out there to win every game. We go out there asking ourselves, can we play our best every week?

“It was a see-sawing contest in the opening term. But they saw some of the best of us in the second quarter. Our pressure was outstanding, and we were particularly good in front of goal.”

De La Salle coach Nick Hyland said he is looking to focus on the positives despite the final result.

“It’s not what we wanted, but the beauty of the season is that we’ve won enough games for the double-chance,” Hyland said.

“They blew us away in the second quarter. The way they punished us on turnover was costly.

“We were pleased with the way we responded after half time, but the game was done and dusted by that point.”

Old Melburnians 11.6 (72) def by Beaumaris 16.7 (103)

A powerful second half from Beaumaris proved enough to see them progress through to the Premier B Men’s Preliminary Final, defeating Old Melburnians by 31 points at Trevor Barker Beach Oval on Sunday.

After trailing by just three points at half-time, the Sharks piled on eight goals to three after the main break.

Max Hoult led the way with four goals for the Sharks, while four other players kicked two.

The win caps off a remarkable rise for Josh Bourke’s men, who are now one win away from promotion to the Premier Men’s competition, after coming up from Premier C only last year.

They will play for promotion and the final place in the Premier B Men’s Grand Final when they take on De La Salle in the Preliminary Final on Sunday.

For the OM’s, their season comes to an end, having qualified for finals in Premier B for the first time in 11 seasons.

Sharks coach Josh Bourke said it was a hard-fought win, but was pleased to progress to the Preliminary Final.

“It was a pretty stressful win,” Bourke said.

“We got a lot right, which was really pleasing. One thing this group rolls up with is effort every single game.

“We’ve earned the right to be in this position. We haven’t been lucky. We’ve been super-consistent for 19 games of footy.

“We’ve been playing to keep our season alive since Round 17, which has held us in good stead.”

OM’s coach James Byrne said that there is much for the club to be excited about in the coming years, despite its season coming to an end.

“They just had more legs,” Byrne said. “We copped two decent injuries before half-time and then lost another player to concussion.

“It’s a really good group of players with a lot of upside. The world’s their oyster. There’s a huge amount of talent.

“But we have to double down in pre-season, refine things, and get better. We achieved finals, but ultimately, we weren’t good enough.”

PRELIMINARY FINAL PREVIEW

De La Salle v Beaumaris – Kennedy Community Centre

Sunday 13^th September, 2:30pm AEST

While Collegians have locked away one spot in this year’s Premier B Grand Final, their opponents will be determined this Sunday, when De La Salle and Beaumariswill play off for the other place in this year’s decider.

The two clubs could not have more contrasting recent history; De La are attempting to gain promotion back into Premier Men’s following last season’s relegation, while Beaumaris are seeking successive promotions after winning last year’s Premier C title.

The two teams have been hard to split in the head-to-head records in this season, too. While De La have won both encounters, they have been close, winning by eight points in Round 5 and then 17 points in Round 16.

De La coach Nick Hyland said he is wary of the opposition and that the earlier home-and-away fixtures could have ended very differently.

“You could make a case that had they kicked straight they could’ve easily won both those games,” Hyland said.

“We’re aware of the threats that they have. They’ve got some real weapons in that forward line.

“We’re looking forward to the contest.”

 Sharks coach Josh Bourke said that despite falling twice against De La this season, he believes his team can win.

“As a club, we’ve got a great rivalry with De La Salle,” Bourke said. “Both times this year we could’ve beaten them.

“We know we’re good enough to win through to the Grand Final. We have to take real belief that we can do that.”