Gil versus Dills – a VAFA Grand Final rivalry renewed

This Friday, University Blues and Old Xaverians will meet in a top-flight VAFA Grand Final for only the third time in the long and storied history of these two great clubs.

Old Xavs won both previous premiership deciders – in 1995 (as the first of their incredible 6 consecutive flags) and again in 2005, when they prevented the Blues from winning back-to-back titles.

Former AFL CEO Gil McLachlan and current League boss Andrew Dillon have stood on opposite sides of the fence in this rivalry for decades, both life members of their respective clubs. They met in the 1995 VAFA A-Grade Grand Final.

McLachlan was a talented big man for University Blues from 1994 to 2003, captaining the club for three seasons, winning a best and fairest, and representing the Big V with distinction.

Dillon was also a Big V rep as a tough, pacy on-baller and defender for Old Xaverians from 1989 to 2004, and one of just four Xavs to play in all six of their consecutive premierships.

Their paths first crossed on the field and ultimately led to personal and professional involvement off it. This week, they will don their scarves and temporarily return to opposite sides of the fence to cheer their beloved team home at Revo Fitness Park.

“Most of my really good friends are people who I’ve either played with or met through Old Xavs,” said Dillon, a former Xavier College student, who originally joined the club to keep playing footy with his schoolmates, and learnt some invaluable life lessons along the way.

“You learn the concept of team. A lot of guys were probably the number 1 or 2 player in their team in their year level at school. But then when you get out into Old Xavs, you’ve got to learn to play roles. Sacrifice your game and what you’re doing for the betterment of the team.

“There was a group of us from a couple of years older to a couple of years younger than me at school, and we all sort of played through that era together for an extended period of time, which probably helped deliver the success, I reckon.

“A few of my old mates have got their sons playing in the Ones, Two and Threes, so there’s still a link that way. The coach, Dan Donati, was in the same year at school as one of my younger brothers and played with me in the flag 30 years ago. Plus, Dan Richardson played in four flags with me and a couple of others, and he’s coaching the Reserves, who are also in the Grand Final.

“So, I’m still very attached to the club.”

McLachlan’s initial connection to his club had a different origin. He had just moved from Adelaide to Melbourne in early 1994 to study law and was seeking a new footy club. That choice would profoundly influence his life.

“Uni Blues has been hugely important to me,” he reflects, with a warmth in his voice.

“It was an opening to meet a whole new cohort of people, because I was moving states.

“I played there for a decade and then served on the committee for another decade. I’m still in regular contact with many of the guys from back in the day. I loved playing football, and I’ve always loved being around footy clubs. I’m really aware of how big football clubs can be in people’s lives.

“That was my footy club, and I was lucky. I had a great crew, and my era is still very connected to the club. A guy I played with is the President, and mates of mine are still on the committee. I’ve got sons of mates playing for Blues.

“We’re a very diverse club. People from the city, the country – all over the place. We’re not aligned to a school or a region. It’s always been the quintessential footy club – people from everywhere and from every background, and it attracted people with the right values and rejected people who were individuals.

“It has a huge history and great character. Traditions on and off the field. Great fun, with a quintessential ‘good person’ type of culture. You can go anywhere, and you’ll find a Uni Blues person.”

McLachlan and Dillon first crossed paths in 1995, as both teams were on the rise. The Blues had just been elevated to A-grade and immediately challenged Xavs for the title of best team in the competition. They ultimately met on Grand Final Day – Xavs with a thumping 84-point win.

“They had a very good ruckman called Michael Blood, who I played against for 10 years, and he never came off!” McLachlan recalled.

“There were no rotations, and mostly it was like running into a brick wall, rucking against him. He and Andrew Ramsden from Trinity were the best I played against.

“A little-known fact: we lost by 14 goals and Michael Blood – my opponent – won the medal for Best on Ground. So that was what you call a long day!”

“In my time, they turned into a powerhouse. It was an unbelievable team. They had a lot of players who went on and played in many Grand Final wins and got drafted. They had AFL talents like James and Anthony McDonald, and Andrew Leoncelli. I had huge respect for them.

“They were also a team you loved beating. They were appropriately arrogant or confident, and it was a hard day to play them.”

Dillon recalls those battles from the opposite camp.

“You had to get on top of Uni in the ruck,” he said, “and they had some great battles against each other. For someone as tall as Gil was, he was also pretty bloody skillful. He was a very good player, and he was hard to match up on because of his height and his mobility. He used to go forward a bit and take some good marks.”

Gil was equally glowing in his recollection of Andrew’s on-field abilities.

“He was as tough as buggery,” he laughs.

“He was a little bit small for me to be worried about – you don’t worry about the little blokes – but he was a very tough ball player. We played against each other for literally ten years. He loves his Xavs like I love my Blues.”

“It’s been a great rivalry, that’s for sure,” agrees Dillon.

“Xavs have been in A-grade since 1992, and I reckon the Blues have been in A-grade every year since 1995, bar one, so they’ve played a lot of footy against each other over the past 30-plus years.

“I’m very friendly now with a lot of the Uni Blues guys, and I spoke at their golf day only a couple of weeks back, and even walking into that room – I wasn’t welcomed back like a Uni Blues player, but I was made to feel very at home.”

“There were clubs you hated, but Xavs was not like that,” says McLachlan.

“Xavs were just the club you wanted to beat the most because they were so good. In my time, they played in the right spirit. Super competitive, but mostly fair!”

The niceties will be set aside for a few hours on Friday afternoon as these two clubs throw everything at each other in their bid to claim another precious premiership cup.

The Blues’ last piece of silverware came in 2019, while the Xavs hadn’t won a final since their 2016 flag until last weekend’s nail-biting Preliminary Final victory.

“In the modern Xavs era, that’s called a drought!” laughs Dillon.

“Winning on Friday would be a great reward. Whether you make the grand final and win the flag or not, you’re still putting in the same amount of work each season. That’s everyone, from the players and the coaches to all the volunteers around the club.

“So, it would mean a great deal to the Xavs community in the same way it would for the Uni Blues community, because no one works any less than the others.”

Both still follow their team closely, getting to as many games as possible or monitoring the action on their phone every Saturday afternoon, and have been thrilled with their 2026 performance.

“The Blues have been great,” says McLachlan, definitively.

“Just adding that little bit of extra AFL experience down back, and they’ve got a lot of good young kids going too. I think they’ve got six kids under 20 or something like that. They’re tall. They look very even to me. They’ve just got guys all over the ground who can compete. Grand Finals are hard, particularly against Xavier.

“It’s an even money game. The Blues by a point!”

“I was expecting Xavs would be right up there this year, with the calibre of players that they’ve got,” said Dillon, “and I think they’ve done really well.

“It’s a tough match-up against Uni Blues. We beat them the first time, then the Blues knocked us over at Toorak Park, and were then obviously very strong in the Second Semi. But a couple of times in my career, we lost to Grand Final opponents three times in a year, then beat them on Grand Final Day, so it can turn around quickly.

“The key for Xavs will be to shut down the Blues’ prime movers, particularly the two big forwards in Stewart and Grimley. If they can put pressure on in the midfield and stop the supply, then Xavs have got a pretty potent forward line themselves.”

Both men will be at Revo Fitness Park on Friday to watch another chapter in the VAFA’s rich history unfold, and both are keen to again immerse themselves in the passion and energy of their respective supporter bases.

“I hope to see him there,” says McLachlan, “and I hope that the better team in blue wins!”

“May the best team win,” concurs Dillon, “and they’ll be in red and black!”

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2026 WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S GRAND FINAL

University Blues vs Old Xaverians

Friday 2.30pm (Revo Fitness Park at Elsternwick Park)

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LIVE COVERAGE from 2pm Friday on VAFA.com.au & KTV, with our award-winning SEN Match of the Day radio coverage on the SEN app!

If you’re coming to the game, BRING YOUR HEADPHONES and enjoy our call of the action LIVE with NO DELAY on the SEN app.