Old Yarra Cobras, Whitefriars headline a weekend filled with big wins

The opening round of the VAFA Division 2 Men’s season featured four one-sided games and one nailbiter, with injuries and player availability challenging some teams early.

St John’s had a rough welcome to Division 2, going down to former Division 1 side West Brunswick by 73 points at Thomas Carroll Reserve.

The Magpies had an even spread of contributors up forward with eight different goalkickers, led by Herbert Fithall (four) along with Caleb Bloomer and Bill Irving (three each).

JOC’s coach Tim Edwards acknowledged West Brunswick were too strong – especially in the second quarter when the Magpies kicked seven goals to one – but was excited to get some gametime into his side’s five debutants.

“Three of them played in the back line, so it was a tough day for them, but I felt they held their own. They’re only going to be better for [the run],” he said.

Edwards flagged the JOC’s would look to build their fitness on the run after an interrupted pre-season saw two of their three scratch matches cancelled.

Old Yarra Cobras, the other side to drop down from Division 1, flexed their muscles on their way to a 104-point victory over South Melbourne Districts at Koonung Reserve.

After a tight first quarter it was all Cobras from that point on, with the Cobras too strong for the Bloods in the remaining three quarters – emphasised by kicking 8.6 while keeping their opponents scoreless in the final quarter.

Old Yarra Cobras coach Nathan Monaco said the Cobras ran out the game was reward for effort after a massive preseason. “We couldn’t do that last year, that’s where we were losing games. There were five times last year where we were either up or within a goal in the last quarter but lost.”

Max Parkes kicked six goals for Old Yarra, with Jack Hall (five) and David Tokatliyan (four) also making valuable contributions up forward. But Monaco was quick to point out that the Cobras could have kicked another nine or ten goals, describing their current goalkicking form as “an Achilles heel” for the side.

Bloods’ coach Nick Abbott said the team gifted Old Yarra multiple goals as a result of skill errors. “We’ve got work to do, but with a number of new players it’s [about] trying to get everyone familiar with one another and all understanding how we want to play,” he said.

Canterbury came into the 2025 season on the back of a six-game winning streak, but that ended abruptly as the 2024 Division 3 Premiers went down to St Mary’s Salesian by 59 points at Ferndale Park.

The two teams were evenly matched in the first half, with the Cobras leading by four points at quarter time before the Saints were ahead by the smallest of margins at the half. 

But the second half of the game was played on St Mary’s terms, with the home side kicking 12 goals to four after the main break.

The first-up win was the first time St Mary’s had saluted in Round 1 since before the pandemic, according to senior coach Clay Tait.

“Canterbury started pretty well – they were getting us out the back on transition pretty quickly. But I spoke about that at half time and in the second half we were able to create turnovers in the middle of the ground and capitalise on those going forward,” Tait said. Tait identified Ben Tricarico and young ruckman Tom Voller as standouts from the match.

The match between Hawthorn and MHSOB went right down to the wire at Rathmines Road Reserve, with just four points separating the two teams at the final siren.

The biggest lead held by either team throughout the contest was 18 points, which happened in the 21^st minute of the last quarter after the home team kicked two goals in as many minutes.

And while the Unicorns did all the scoring in from that point on (2.2), they couldn’t catch the Hawks.

Hawthorn coach Mark Murray was happy with his side’s performance, and was hoping to continue to build a sense of connection amongst the team over the coming weeks. Murray also praised the Unicorns’ Petro Pirozek, who kicked two goals, conceding that the young forward got under the Hawks’ skin throughout the game. “He took some really good marks and he’s a little cheeky… when you look back at the game, you actually love players like that.”

Whitefriars completely dominated Aquinas across all four quarters of their match at Aquinas College, running out 76-point winners. The victory was set up in the first half, with Whitefriars scoring 10 goals to three in the first half to lead by 40 points at the main break.

And while the Friars scoring slowed down in the second half, their defence was impenetrable as they held Aquinas to just two behinds after the main break.  

Aquinas coach Craig Glennie also felt the effort was there despite losing two players to injury after shortly half time. “Our tackle pressure and work around the ground was really good. There were long periods where no one was scoring, and we kept them at bay for the third quarter until they kicked two goals late. But Glennie said that the forward line didn’t function as well as they would have liked compared to Whitefriars’, who were led by Sam Kieseker (six goals).

Whitefriars coach Lucas Matthews said their defensive matchups worked well, although he highlighted that the team needed to tighten up on some of the structural aspects of the game.

Round 2 sees Aquinas host Old Yarra Cobras at Aquinas College in what could be another tough game for the Bloods, and Hawthorn travel to Ferndale Park to face off against St Mary’s Salesian, who will be keen to continue their good form at home.

MSHOB welcome Canterbury to Melbourne High, with both teams looking to bounce back after first up losses. St John’s will hopefully be better for the run when they play Whitefriars at Thomas Carroll Reserve, while West Brunswick play their first home game for the season as they look to do battle with South Melbourne Districts at Ransford Oval.