Round 4 could be moving day in William Buck Premier Men’s

Jason Bennett

Round 4 shapes as an early-season crossroads for several teams in VAFA William Buck Premier Men’s, given we have some top teams matched up against some teams towards the bottom end fighting to keep in touch.

ST BERNARDS have been the story of the early rounds. Rising up from Premier B, they’ve won 2 of their first 3, including an extremely impressive 52-point win over last season’s runners-up St Kevin’s last week that made the competition sit up and take notice.

“I was very pleased with the boys putting in our first four-quarter performance this season,” said Snowdogs’ coach Steve Alessio.

Our players should get a lot of confidence from that, especially our younger brigade.”

Their next challenge takes them back to Melbourne University Oval, where they just fell short against Uni Blues a fortnight ago. This time around, they face the team that came-from-behind to overpower the Blues’ last week – UNIVERSITY BLACKS.

Blacks fought back from an early deficit to find a way to snatch their first win of the season and that ‘never say die’ grit keeps them in games week-after-week.

“We were behind the 8-ball early, being 28 down at quarter time,” said Blacks coach, Dale Bower.

Our boys went to work at what they do best – applying pressure and competing. The second half was an even tussle, the game could have gone either way. So to get the win is great for our belief. It was a true team effort.”

It’s going to be a revealing clash between two uncompromising and relentless young teams – and you can catch every moment of our VAFA SEN MATCH OF THE DAY LIVE on the SEN app, SEN.com.au & VAFA.com.au from 1.45pm Saturday.

Another eye-catching clash will take place at Camberwell Sportsground as OLD SCOTCH host UNIVERSITY BLUES in our Kommunity TV live-stream double-header.

The Cardinals had the upper hand against Collegians for much of the game last Saturday, but couldn’t convert that dominance into score and they ultimately fell 3 points short for their first loss of the season.

But with impressive wins over Blacks & Fitzroy already in their back pocket, they’ve shown signs to suggest they are a team to watch in 2024.

“Lots to like about where we are heading. We’re finding cohesion in our ball movement and our defensive structure is holding up well,” said coach Mark Gnatt.

That structure now faces the sternest of tests against the high-powered Blues’ forward line, headlined by former AFL duo Sam Grimley & James Stewart, who have booted 20 goals between them. Grimley leads the League goalkicking table with 12 from 3 matches, and after being held goal-less last week, will be keen to have an influence.

Blues’ flew out of the blocks last week to play some dazzling high-octane football, but couldn’t maintain the rage.

“We came out and played the type of footy we know we’re capable of. Our energy was up and there was a real buzz with the way we were playing,” said Blues’ coach Guy Martyn. “Disappointingly, that’s where it stopped for us.”

This competition is so even – you just can’t afford to have flat periods throughout a game.”

Expect the Blues to come out breathing fire this week in what promises to be a very revealing match-up.

Catch the OLD SCOTCH-UNI BLUES double header live streaming on Kommunity TV, kicking off with the Reserves from 11.30am Saturday.

Speaking of ‘breathing fire,’ we can expect ST KEVIN’S to be doing just that when they host OLD MELBURNIANS at TH King Oval.

SKOBs will have been stung by last week’s heavy loss to the Snowdogs and coach Anthony Lynch will be looking for his young group to bounce back hard.

“We were never really able to get our style of footy going for any period of the game,” said Lynch. “I’ll be really keen to see our group respond next week back at home.”

While OM’s will also be looking for a lift. Their opening round win over Collegians caught the eye but has been followed by back-to-back fade-outs against Old Xavs and Old Brighton.

Coach Paul Satterley can see the positives but knows his team needs to build towards going harder for longer.

“Once again, we were very competitive for a half against a team chock-full of familiar quality players,” said Satterley. “Whilst we can see marked improvement in our team, we need to sustain our effort for 4 quarters.”

Two teams on the rebound? This promises to be a suitably physical one.

READ THE WEEK 4 AMATEUR FOOTBALLER RECORD >

Reigning champions COLLEGIANS hung on to score their first win of their title defence last week in a 3-point thriller over the Cardinals that keeps them in touch with the leading pack.

The Lions found a way to break the game open late against the Cardinals in a win that will give their revamped line-up some confidence.

“The game opened up in the last quarter as we got back on top around the contest and gave our forwards some good looks with some deep entries,” said coach Jordie McKenzie. “Scotch kept coming and thanks to some big efforts from the backline, led by Scott Beilby and Luke McCleary, we were able to hold on.”

Now they head to Toorak Park to face an in-form OLD XAVERIANS, who are hunting a third straight win after back-to-back victories over OM’s and Fitzroy.

Xavs are building nicely into their first season under coach Dan Donati. They blitzed the Roys straight out of the gate last week, kicking the opening six goals to lead by 47 points at the major break.

“We started really strongly and put together a great first half, with plenty of looks due to our midfield being on top and defending really well,” said Donati. “The second half was a different story and credit to Fitzroy for the way they worked their way back into the game.”

Can Collegians claim a handy scalp and start making a move up the ladder or will Old Xavs defend their spot inside the Top 4?

The final clash of Round 4 sees top host bottom as FITZROY head to Brighton Beach Oval to face OLD BRIGHTON.

The Roys boast plenty of young talent which is getting acclimated to the speed and intensity of Premier Men’s. They fell narrowly short in the opening round, having led St Bernard’s for much of the day, before being blown away late by the Cardinals.

Last week, they flipped the script – outplayed early but found their groove in the second half, which please coach Travis Ronaldson.

“We know our best footy is good enough. The challenge for our young group is to deliver it for a full four quarters each week.”

And that’s exactly what it will take to roll Old Brighton at home. The only undefeated team in the league, the Tonners have shown grit and resilience in the opening rounds, seeing off stern challenges from Uni Blues and Uni Blacks, before breaking OM’s open in the second half last week.

“That third quarter was probably our best quarter of footy so far this year. We moved the ball a little more purposefully which gave the forwards opportunity,” said coach Marcel Bruin.

Join the VAFA William Buck SEN MATCH OF THE DAY call team for their live coverage of UNI BLACKS vs ST BERNARDS from 1.45pm Saturday on the SEN App, SEN.com.au & VAFA.com.au.

Keep up-to-date with live scores and the latest news at VAFA.com.au