Round 2 William Buck Premier Men’s Preview

Who can double up and who can bounce back as we hit Round 2 of William Buck Premier Men’s?

Here’s your closer look at the match-ups, four of which will feature LIVE on VAFA Media:

OLD BRIGHTON vs OLD HAILEYBURY (Brighton Beach Oval)

It is a fascinating match-up to kick things off, as last year’s minor premiers host last year’s Premier B champions.

The Tonners were at their dominant best at Fortress Brighton last week, ultimately hammering Blacks by 96 points. They’ve won their last 10 at home by an average of 33 points and will provide Old Haileybury with an early litmus test of where they sit relative to the likely contenders.

“We understand the challenge we face in heading to Old Brighton this week,” said Bloods coach, Daniel Ward. “We look forward to it as we see them as one of the benchmarks.”

The Bloods were ruthless in the final term last week against Collegians, tearing the Lions apart with a 10-goal quarter that blew the margin out to 74 points as they celebrated their return to Premier Men’s in style.

Both teams may be bolstered by returning VFL-listed players, given the VFL has a bye due to the SANFL vs VFL State game.

Last week Old Haileybury caught the eye, but it left us wondering how much of that margin reflected on the Bloods and how much on the Lions?

No such queries this weekend. If you can stand up to the Tonners at Brighton Beach Oval, you can stand up to anyone.

Watch the Reserves-Seniors double-header LIVE STREAMING on KommunityTV from 11.35am Saturday!

UNIVERSITY BLACKS vs ST BERNARD’S (Melbourne University Oval)

The Snowdogs went from travelling like minestrone on the back of a motorbike to lobster bisque on a stylish silver platter with their appetite-whetting one-point after-the-siren win over the Blues at Melbourne Uni in Round 1.

They return to the scene of Joey Agresta’s last-gasp heroics in a bid to start their 2025 campaign 2-zip on the road, full of confidence and belief that they can get the job done away from the Snake Pit.

Steve Alessio’s group is better prepared for the rigours of Premier Men’s footy after a solid year of learning throughout 2024. One of those lessons came at the hands of Uni Blacks in Round 4, where they were brought back to earth with a thud after hammering St Kevin’s the previous week.

Consistency will be key for the Dogs in 2025 and games such as this one are a prime example. If they bring their best, they’ll be right in it. But if they’re off the boil, the Blacks are more than capable of making them pay.

Dale Bower’s team had the uphill task of Brighton at Brighton in the opening round, and, after a promising first quarter when their pressure around the ground prevented the hosts from getting on top, they were ultimately put away once the Tonners’ machine got up and purring.

The Blacks will be determined to prevent the Snowdogs from racking up the touches like the Tonners did against them in Round 1. Given that the Blacks went at just 54% disposal efficiency and 50% by foot last week, a key focus will surely have been ball protection.

They took just 2 Marks Inside 50 in the opening round, so if they can maintain the pressure they exerted early against Old Brighton, win their share of footy and retain it with better ball use, they can give their forwards better chances to kick a winning score.

Where do these two teams sit in pecking order? We’re about to find out a little bit more about both of them.

Listen to our award-winning VAFA SEN Match of the Day radio coverage from 1.45pm on VAFA.com.au & the SEN app.

DE LA SALLE vs OLD SCOTCH (Waverley Oval)

De La Salle copped the harshest of welcomes back to Premier Men’s at the hands of a rampaging Old Xavs last weekend, but coach Nick Hyland is confident that as painful as it was, the lessons learned will hold his side in good stead.

“I was proud of our work rate and ability to not give in, despite the scoreline heavily against us,” said Hyland.

“Plenty of learnings to take away, and I’ve got no doubt each individual, and us as a collective, will be better for that two hours we experienced against quality opposition.”

And they’re about to get another dose of top quality this weekend, with the reigning champions rolling into Waverley Oval for the first time since 2018.

The Cardinals were more impressive than the final scoreboard suggested last week, as they controlled the game against St Kevin’s before SKOB almost doubled their score in the last term to ultimately close within 14 points but never with the chance to steal it.

The champs unveiled some new faces who immediately looked comfortable at the level and this week, they could be the biggest beneficiaries of the SANFL-VFL game, given they have 15 VFL-listed players, many of whom may be available to saddle up for Scotch this weekend.

De La will undoubtedly improve as the weeks roll by, and they settle into the greater speed and intensity of A-Grade.

Can they implement some of the lessons learned last week and made some positive strides against the competition benchmark?

Watch this game LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.50pm Saturday!

ST KEVIN’S vs OLD XAVERIANS (TH King Oval)

The Match of the Round might be at TH King as perennial contenders St Kevin’s host a team that many expect to challenge for the title in 2025 – Old Xavs.

Xavs could not have been more impressive in their brutal destruction of De La Salle last weekend and have all the necessary weapons to more than stretch any team in the competition.

Their deep and powerful midfield supplies a stacked forward line, with four players (Charlie Macisaac, Ed Delany, Charlie Knott & Stirling Phipps-Parsons) booting 4 goals apiece as they rammed through 28 majors on their way to a 129-point win.

But SKOB have built their modern success on miserly defence, so it’s going to be fascinating to see how they handle Xavs’ firepower.

Coach Anthony Lynch will have also spent plenty of time looking inside his own Forward 50 this week after SKOB failed to convert territory into score against the Cards.

They finished with 12 more Inside 50s and more scoring shots than Old Scotch, but with gun spearhead Patty Kerr held to 11 touches and 2 goals, they will be looking for other avenues to open up and stretch Xavs’ backline.

The midfield battle is going to be something to behold, with tough nuts on both teams who will refuse to give an inch.

FOR THE LOVE OF THE GAME’s Joey Pignataro & Paddy Grindlay BOTH predicted this to be the 2025 Grand Final match-up – what a game this promises to be!

Grab a bowl of popcorn and a cold beverage and settle in to enjoy this one LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au from 1.50pm Saturday!

COLLEGIANS vs UNIVERSITY BLUES (Harry Trott Oval)

Two teams hunting their first win meet at the Lions’ Den in Round 2, but the circumstances of their opening round losses could barely have been more different.

Collegians hung in the fight against Old Haileybury for three quarters without getting full bang for their buck.

After getting jumped early, the Lions fought their way back into the contest and got their running game going in patches, but turnovers prevented them from converting possession into score (a whopping 61 midfield turnovers to 37 proved costly).

Yet they were still within 4 goals at the final change until the dam wall completely gave way in the last term and the Bloods stormed away. The 2023 champions will be determined to make a statement at home this weekend.

Uni Blues, on the other hand, walked away from their agonising 1-point after-the-siren loss to St Bernard’s with some positives to build upon after storming back with a 4-goal burst that saw them hit the front in time-on before being pipped with the last kick of the day.

Matt Smith, in his first game in charge of the Blues, was pleased with his team’s endeavour.

“We fought the game right out to the end and could see patches of the way we want to play, which stood up well.”

There’s no doubting the Blues’ top-end talent and they have found another potential young star – Darcy Chirgwin – who has rocketed into the crosshairs of Big V selectors with his eye-catching 39-disposal debut last week.

Can the Blues combine all their pieces for long enough to get over the Lions? Or will Jordie McKenzie’s team bounce back hard and make their own statement?

It promises to be a revealing afternoon at Harry Trott!

VAFA MEDIA LIVE COVERAGE – ROUND 2 (APRIL 12)

SEN MATCH OF THE DAY – University Blacks vs St Bernard’s             
1.45pm – VAFA.com.au & SEN app

KOMMUNITY TV LIVE-STREAM DOUBLE HEADER – Old Brighton vs Old Haileybury
11.35am – Reserves
1.45pm – Seniors

VAFA TV LIVE-STREAMS

De La Salle vs Old Scotch
1.55pm – VAFA.com.au

St Kevin’s vs Old Xaverians
1.55pm – VAFA.com.au