Round 8 William Buck Premier Men’s Preview

Round 8 is set to be one of the season’s best in VAFA William Buck Premier Men’s, with five mouth-watering matches to look forward to.

Old Xaverians are building into their season nicely and will enter their home clash against St Bernard’s at Toorak Oval hunting a third straight win after back-to-back successes at Melb Uni Oval over the last fortnight.

Xavs held Blacks goalless in the opening half last weekend and ultimately cruised to a 56-point win that raised a few eyebrows around the competition as their game comes together in Dan Donati’s first year back at the club.

They dominated possession and turned that into a territorial advantage. Can they do the same against the Snowdogs, who all but knocked over the undefeated Old Brighton in a titanic struggle last weekend?

St Bernards played smart football, pushing numbers behind the ball and almost pulling off the upset of the season. They have been consistently competitive and capable of challenging every team in the league.

Can the Dogs build upon last weekend’s performance and remain within striking distance of the leading pack or will they cop a fourth consecutive loss?

Catch every moment of our live-stream at VAFA.com.au & the VAFA Facebook page from 11.35am Saturday.

Will the real Old Melburnians please stand up?

A fantastic win over Uni Blacks followed by their best half of the season saw them five goals ahead of Uni Blues at the major break last weekend and looking like their season was tracking in the right direction.

But a disastrous second half saw them concede 12 goals to 1 as all the positive momentum they’d been building evaporated in an hour of footy.

Now Paul Satterley’s team must regroup and head to Camberwell to face the Old Enemy – Old Scotch – in a crucial game for both teams as they fight to clear the relegation zone and keep in touch with the Top 4.

The Cardinals have been a mixed bag in 2024. Their best football has been impressive, but they’ve come up short against the better teams, albeit their losses to Collegians, Uni Blues and St Kevin’s have been by a combined total of just 12 points. Win those three & they’d be a clear premiership contender.

Their next five weeks may ultimately define their season – OMs, Old Xavs, Fitzroy, Uni Blacks & St Bernards. It’s an opportunity for Mark Gnatt’s team to make a statement, elevate themselves above these sides and firmly establish themselves in the Top 4.

They are the #1 Disposals team in the comp, so they’ll be looking to establish their possession game against the league’s leading One-Percenter team who will be hellbent on disrupting their uncontested chains.

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.

TH King Oval will be rocking for one of the games of the season as the third-placed St Kevin’s host league-leaders Old Brighton.

These two teams have a great recent history, with two single-digit thrillers last season after their Grand Final showdown in 2022, which SKOB won in a low-scoring grind.

The Tonners haven’t put a foot wrong in 2024 as evidenced by their perfect 7-0 start.

They are ranked #1 in Attack and Defence, with strength and talent across all lines making them very difficult to break down.

Old Brighton coach Marcel Bruin fully expects to be facing opponents prepared to throw different tactics at him every week – that comes with the territory when you’re the league-leader.

St Bernard’s threw numbers behind the ball last week and then managed to slingshot out of defence with good effect. Will SKOB employ similar tactics and try to counterpunch off the back of the Tonners’ territorial dominance?

The territory battle will be fascinating, given these are the Top 2 Inside 50 teams in the competition, used to getting their own way in the midfield most weeks.

Ball use will be critical – SKOB ranked last for Disposal Efficiency (OB #3) so the home team will be focused on protecting the footy and avoiding playing into the hands of OB’s turnover game.

St Kevin’s coach Anthony Lynch knows that it’s going to take a team effort to overcome the powerful team brand that Old Brighton are consistently delivering week after week.

Can SKOB make an enormous statement and ‘defend their house’ at TH King or will the Tonners kick even further clear at the top of the table?

What a game it promises to be!

View the Week 8 Amateur Footballer Record >

Another two in-form teams will collide as Collegians & University Blues square off at Harry Trott Oval.

The Lions have found their groove, stringing together 5 straight wins to jump into second spot, while the Blues have won 3 of their last 4, including that devastating second half performance against OMs last week that will have them roll into enemy territory full of confidence.

The top two teams in the 2023 home & away season met in the Second Semi last season – Collegians sneaking home in a 2-point thriller that ultimately set up their premiership success, while the Blues bombed out in straight sets and will be keen to extract some payback this weekend.

The Lions are playing their high-possession brand with great success, having racked up over 400 disposals in both of their last 2 outings, leading to impressive wins.

They are doing it via even performances right across the field – last week’s 406 disposal effort only saw one player (Will Pewtress) have over 30 touches, with 11 players in the 20’s.

They booted 12 goals from turnovers against the Roys and their intercept game is as good as any in the league – they punish on the counter with brutal efficiency.

The Blues have a handful of match-winners capable of troubling anyone. Their twin towers up forward – Sam Grimley & James Stewart – lead the league goalkicking table, while Eddy Ziebarth returned from a month on the sidelines to kick 4 goals last week as a ground-level presence Inside 50.

Collegians will be keen to control the ball once again. They will be hard to beat if they establish their precise keepings-off footy and punish off the turnover.

But if the Blues can control the skies like they so often do & bring the electrifying form they displayed in the second half last week, they will cause the reigning champs plenty of headaches.

It promises to be a revealing (and spirited) afternoon lakeside!

The final clash of Round 8 impacts the bottom end of the table as University Blacks host Fitzroy at Melbourne Uni Oval.

Blacks were uncharacteristically uncompetitive against Old Xavs last week, blown off the park early to be 38 points down at quarter-time and 58 points at the main break, having been held goalless through the opening two quarters.

They marginally outscored Xavs in the second half but the damage was well and truly done in a performance that coach Dale Bower will be hoping is an aberration, given his team has been gritty and competitive in every other game this season.

They must find a way to snap their 3-game losing streak if they’re to keep in touch with the Top 4 and it needs to start on the inside – Blacks #1 for Contested Possession vs Fitzroy #10.

Scoring has been Uni Blacks’ biggest challenge this season – they are ranked last in Attack (av.62pts) and Bottom 3 for I50s.

But the Roys are last for Inside 50s, so if Blacks can dominate the contest and control territory off the back of that, they can provide their forwards with the necessary supply to kick a winning score.

Similarly to Blacks, Fitzroy were blown away early last week before digging in. Coach Travis Ronaldson was disappointed by their first quarter, given their last few weeks have been particularly competitive.

Jack McKay stood up last weekend, booting 6 goals In the absence of gun forward Dane Harvey (who is playing Carlton VFL) and the Roys will be focused on trying to give him as many one-on-one opportunities Inside 50 as possible.

That means cracking in and winning contested footy, given they are last for Contested Possessions, Ground Ball Gets, Clearances and Disposals. It has meant that the Roys have been forced into chasing, harassing and creating turnovers around the ground, rather than being able to win it inside and move it quickly Inside 50 to their forwards.

It’s a massive opportunity for one of these teams to snap up a precious 4 points as we head for the halfway point of a particularly tight season.

Join the VAFA SEN MATCH OF THE DAY call team for our live coverage of OLD SCOTCH vs OLD MELBURNIANS from 1.45pm Saturday on SEN.com.au & the SEN app.

Catch OLD XAVERIANS vs ST BERNARDS live streaming on VAFA TV from 11.35am (Reserves) into Seniors from 1.45pm Saturday.

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