PREMIER 2015 FIXTURE PREVIEW

On the eve of the Premier Section 2015 fixture being released, vafa.com.au has managed to get a sneak preview. Below we take a look at the first six weeks and what that looks like for your club next year. 
Opening day is the same for all clubs in all sections this year, with Round 1 to commence on Saturday, 11 April 2015, the week after Easter. 
Reigning premiers University Blacks will get to unfurl their premiership flag at home in Round 1 as Old Scotch will get a first look at how the 2014 champs are shaping up for 2015. Rivals of recent seasons will see Old Xaverians commence at home to Collegians. 
It will be 2014 revisited for Old Trinity and St Bernard’s who will again open the season with a clash at Daley Oval. The promoted Premier B sides are both away in week 1; Old Carey travel to Beaumaris whilst University Blues will start their season with a visit to the Dairy Bell and a match up against De La Salle. 
In Round 2, everyone that was away will be at home except St Bernard’s who are forced to travel due to the re-development work being done on their surface. The Snowdogs match against Old Xaverians was scheduled to be at the Snakepit, although an agreement between the two clubs has seen them flip the fixture for that match to see the first meeting of the year between the clubs played at Toorak Park. 
Old Carey are at home for the first time against Uni Blacks whilst Old Scoth will host De La Salle. Another highlight of the round will be Collegians hosting a Friday night fixture against Old Trinity. 
University Blues will get to raise a premiership flag over the Uni Oval for the second time in a couple of weeks when they host Beaumaris. 
Round 3 will be played on ANZAC Day for all clubs. The University of Melbourne derby will be played on this day and with the University Football Club suffering huge losses during the Great War, this 100th Anniversary celebration and remembrance of ANZAC Day is sure to be a special occasion. 
Old Scotch and Collegians will have their own ANZAC Day commemoration as the Lions step in to fill the void left by St Bedes/Mentone Tigers who were relegated to Premier B. 
In other ANZAC Day matches, Old Carey will host Old Trinity, Old Xaverians will host De La Salle and St Bernard’s will be at home for the first time with a visit from Beaumaris. 
Round 4 will see the first away fixture of the year for Old Xaverians when they travel to the Aquarium for a clash with the Sharks. Beaumaris won this clash in 2014 by three points in a ding-dong battle. 
The Grand Final re-match will see Collegians host University Blacks, this game is still to be determined whether it will be a Friday night under lights or played out on the Saturday. 
De La Salle are at home to Old Carey and Old Trinity will host Old Scotch, whilst University Blues will meet St Bernard’s on the Uni Oval. 
Round 5 action commences with Old Scotch hosting Beaumaris at Camberwell. old Carey will entertain Old Xaverians and Old Trinity will meet Uni Blacks at Bulleen. University Blues host Collegians at the Uni and De La Salle will visit St Bernard’s to close out the round. 
To rank your club’s start to the year we have given each team a ranking based on last season’s finishing position; the two promoted sides are ranked 9th and 10th respectively. We then see how many matches each team plays against various opponents and total up the combined rankings, the lower the score the better draw. 
Beaumaris
Open with matches against the two promoted Premier B sides, but play three finalists in the first six weeks, only missing Collegians (who they play in Round 7 anyway). Also away four of the first six. Average opponent ranking of 5.5, for a mark of B.
Collegians
Play all other finalists, plus both Old Trinity and Old Xaverians who just missed in the first six. Will have a least one possibly two matches under lights where they have never lost. Home in half of the matches. Average opponent  4.6, mark of C+.
De La Salle
Despite commencing against University Blues at home, De La Salle only play 2 of last year’s Premier Section finalists in the first six weeks. Split their matches with three home and three away. Average opponent 6.1, mark of B+.
Old Carey
Their return to Premier will see the Panthers play only two Premier Section finalists from the year before in their first six weeks. At home for three and away for three, their home ground advantage will be tested by both Old Xaverians and University Blacks who visit in that period. Average opponent 5.2, mark of B.
Old Scotch 
The Cardinals play both of last year’s grand finalists in the first three rounds, but they do play four of their first six on their home ground of Camberwell. Despite the tough start they a good chance to be on the positive side of the ledger after six rounds. Average opponent 5.5, mark of B+. 
Old Trinity
If Old Trinity to continue to improve on their 2014 showing then their tough start should be too much of a problem, but there is no doubt an opening day win against St Bernard’s again has the chance to launch their season. The T’s play all four finalists in the first six with Collegians set to be away under lights. They are at home on three occasions. Average opponent 4.66, mark of C+.
Old Xaverians
Old Xaverians can’t afford a start like last year as they are no doubt the beneficiary of St Bernard’s ground being unavailable for their scheduled round 2 clash. Xavs will profit with three home games to start the year, but this is offset by only being home once in the final five weeks. Xavs play both promoted sides and face only two sides that finished above them (both at home). The also have four home matches in the first six. Average opponent 6.5, mark of A.
St Bernard’s
The aforementioned ground redevelopment sees St Bernard’s on the road for the first two rounds before a home match against Beaumaris. They are only at home for two of the first six. However the Snowdogs are home for four straight weeks from round 12-16. They do however only play one Premier Section finalist from 2014 in their first half dozen. Average opponent 6.2, mark of B+.
University Blacks
The reigning premiers are at home for three of their first six although one of those is the derby against Blues on ANZAC Day. They play both promoted sides and face off against two of last year’s finalists in the first six weeks. Still to be confirmed whether their round 4 grand final re-match against Collegians will be under lights or not. Average opponent 6.2, mark of A. 
University Blues
Blues start with the two lowest ranked sides from Premier in 2014, before a challenging run where they play the top three in a row, commencing with a derby against Blacks. It doesn’t get any easier for Blues who then travel to Toorak Park to play Xavs. Average opponent 4.5, mark of C.
The full Premier Section 18 round home and away fixture will be released this Thursday 4 December at vafa.com.au.