Round 14 William Buck Premier Men’s Preview

A first versus third blockbuster headlines Round 14 of William Buck Premier Men’s action.

It will be one of the most anticipated matchups of the season as Old Scotch (9-4) hosts Old Brighton (12-1) at Camberwell Sportsground.

The third-placed Cardinals arrive on a 6-game winning streak with an average margin of 31 points and a one-game gap on Old Xavs. Having fallen to Old Brighton & St Kevin’s the first time around this season, they now test their progress again over the next two weeks in a critical fortnight for their finals hopes.

They are the Number #1 Disposal team in the competition (Old Brighton #4), but the Tonners are #1 for Contested Possessions & Ground Ball Gets, so the scrap to win the footy is going to be critical – particularly so given these are the two lowest turnover teams. They both protect the ball well, so winning it back off them isn’t easy.

If the Cardinals can win their share of inside ball & get their link game going to effectively move it to the outside, they can look to stretch the Tonners. It’s the Top 2 defences head-to-head, so efficient and effective ball movement – particularly in your front half – is going to be key.

Old Brighton have swept (just about) all before them so far in 2024, with their one loss coming to St Kevin’s by 2 points in Round 8. The winning margin in their 12 victories this season sits at an impressive 33 points as they head into a final stretch that will see them face all of the other Top 5 teams in the run home.

Captain Harry Hill looms as critical once again. He leads Old Brighton in Disposals, Handballs, Ground Ball Gets, Contested Possessions, Clearances, Tackles, Pressure Acts, Inside 50s & Goal Involvements! Stopping him may be the key to stopping the Tonners. But that’s much easier said than done as every team has reconfirmed this season.

Are Old Scotch a genuine contender? The next two weeks will tell us plenty!

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Old Xaverians (8-5) roll into Round 14 on a 3-game winning streak that has seen them leapfrog Collegians into fourth spot. This week they host another potential challenger for fourth – University Blues (6-7) – who will arrive at Toorak Park with a very different form line, having lost their last 4.

In fairness, the last three of those were against the Top 3 teams. Now they test themselves against the 4^th ranked team in a must-win game if they are to keep their fading finals hopes alive.

Without gun spearhead James Stewart, who has been sidelined with a serious hamstring injury, or the clever Eddie Ziebarth at his feet, the Blues have struggled to score against the better teams, booting just 16 goals in their last 3 outings.

Sam Grimley has battled manfully in their absence & sits second on the League goalkicking table with 37, but he needs more quick quality supply to enable him to battle his opponent one-out. The Blues are #7 for Disposals and Inside 50s – can they win more Clearances (only Fitzroy have won less this season) and generate more attacking forays?

It won’t be easy against the #1 Clearance team in the competition, who are building beautifully towards September. Their star-studded midfield boasting skipper Marcus Stavrou, Sam Fisher & gun ruck Alec Spralja just received some incredible reinforcements in Sydney Swans premiership player Dan Hannebery and returning star Denis Symeopoulos.

Xavs may have the best midfield core in the competition and with  Stirling Phipps-Parsons, Charlie MacIsaac & Ed Delaney all having great seasons up forward, they appear to have all the necessary tools for a flag tilt.

But the Blues will be desperate. Can they convert that desperation into 4 precious premiership points?

Catch all the action live on our VAFA TV double-header – OLD XAVERIANS vs UNI BLUES from 11.40am Saturday (Reserves) into the Seniors from 1.45pm, streaming live & free at VAFA.com.au.

Chasing Xavs for fourth spot are reigning premiers Collegians (7-6) who face a tricky road-trip to the Snake Pit to face St Bernard’s (4-9).

The Lions pushed Xavs all the way last week but couldn’t quite get over the line, leaving them one game off the pace in the race for the Final 4. And while it’s a very different-looking team to their premiership combination, they have been bedding down some additional layers to their game plan and are getting healthier by the week. The double-bye came at a good time, given they were out on their feet.

The Snowdogs are also regaining quality and will enter full of confidence on the back of their 35-point win over Uni Blacks which elevated them a game clear of the drop zone.

Edyn Sibbald has been a game-changer and his 7 goals last week, including 4 in the final term to secure victory, rocketed him to 4^th on the League goalkicking with 25. Collegians coach Jordie McKenzie will have spent plenty of time planning for Edyn this week.

St Bernard’s find another gear at home, with all 4 of their wins this season at the Snake Pit. This one has ‘danger game’ written all over it for the champs, who will be keen to settle quickly and get away to a good start that allows them to assert control and get their possession game rolling.

The last time these teams met, Collegians blew the Snowdogs off the park in the final term to post a 55-point win in Round 6. But St Bernard’s has learned and improved significantly since then. Enough to knock off the reigning champs? We’re about to find out.

With the relegation race blown wide open in recent weeks, the University Blacks (3-10) vs Old Melburnians (3-9-1) clash at Melbourne Uni Oval takes on even greater significance.

OMs leapfrogged Blacks out of the drop zone with their spirited draw against St Kevin’s last week. It was a huge shot in the arm for Paul Satterley’s men, who escaped relegation by the smallest possible margin last season.

They are used to late-season scraps for survival and find themselves in another one here. In fact, OMs will play all the other teams around them in the run home, which puts their destiny back in their own hands.

Uni Blacks arrive home on a 5-game losing streak, having fallen to 4 potential contenders before their disappointing performance last week against St Bernard’s, which saw them slip to 9^th and in danger of relegation.

Scoring is their biggest issue. They are last in the competition in Points For, averaging just 59 per game. Ayui Makieng has been a huge positive this season and leads the way with 19 goals, but Blacks need others to hit the scoreboard as well.

They get their share of ball (#6 Disposals) and work really hard without it (#1 Tackles) but it’s not translating into forward movement, given they are #9 Inside 50s (only Fitzroy have fewer).

But both teams will enter this game confident of their ability to beat the other. It may ultimately prove to be season-defining as well. The winner will clear the drop zone (for the moment at least) while the heat will turn up a little more on the loser.

The final clash of Round 13 sees Fitzroy (2-11) host St Kevins (10-2) at Brunswick Street Oval.

Despite sitting at the bottom of the table, the Royboys have been competitive most weeks. Their key now is to bring that competitive heat early in games rather than fighting back later after falling behind.

Last week against Old Brighton was a prime example – the Tonners jumped them to lead by 28 points at quarter time, before the Roys stabilised through the middle two quarters and won the last quarter.

This continues to be a trend for Fitzroy and they will be determined to hang in against St Kevin’s and allow their confidence to build, just as OMs did last week when they hung around all afternoon and ultimately picked up a draw.

It’s been an extremely challenging fortnight for SKOB after losing Michael Pisker to serious injury and there’s little doubt that it affected their performance last week. Time will tell if it continues to occupy their minds as they continue to navigate a delicate situation that has turned their club upside down.

A fully firing St Kevin’s rolls into Brunswick Street and gets the job done. But anything less than that may give the Roys a sniff and we know the momentum they can build at home when the locals sense an upset…

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

Take your headphones or earbuds, download the SEN app & listen to our commentary LIVE IN REAL TIME while watching the action!

Catch our WILLIAM BUCK PREMIER MEN’S double-header between OLD XAVERIANS & UNIVERSITY BLUES live streaming at VAFA.com.au from 11.40am Saturday (Reserves) into the Seniors from 1.45pm.

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