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VAFA William Buck Premier Men's Preliminary Final Preview
Jason Bennett • September 19th, 2025 5:31 pm
Will the Cards fall for the Xavs? The William Buck PREMIER MEN’S Preliminary Final Preview
The Tonners are through to their third Premier Men’s Grand Final in four years. Who will progress to face them?
Will it be Xavs bouncing back from last weekend’s Second Semi defeat, or will Old Scotch keep on rolling and set up a Grand Final rematch?
Here’s your preview:
PRELIMINARY FINAL – OLD XAVERIANS vs OLD SCOTCH (Sat 2.10pm – Elsternwick Park)
It’s second versus fourth at the end of the home & away season, but as we’ve seen in both Premier B and Premier C this year, it’s entirely possible to take the longer route to the decider (as Caulfield and AJAX have both done).
Old Xaverians have shaped as a premiership contender all season long, as evidenced by their 15-4 record (with the losses exclusively to the first and third-ranked teams).
The Tonners aside, they’ve run the table, knocking off every team since Round 3. Their depth covered the inevitable absences, and they clearly established their bona fides as the second-best team across the entirety of the season.
However, that’s not what matters now. It’s purely about who is the better team across the next four quarters.
Old Scotch struggled with availability for much of the season, losing players to VFL duties and injuries. We said at the beginning of the season that THE key X-Factor in who ultimately hoists the 2025 Premier Men’s cup would be the Cardinals’ availability challenge.
Sure enough, it almost wiped them out completely when they trailed Old Haileybury by three games plus percentage with just three to play – a virtually impossible position to make finals from, given they also had Uni Blacks in front of them as well.
But the Cardinal Cavalry arrived just in time, and they swept aside the Blacks, Bloods and then SKOB last week in the First Semi to arrive at the penultimate game of the season with a massive head of steam.
So you can completely disregard their 9-9 season record. The Xavs will be facing a different version of the Cardinals – the September Cards.
Both teams are stacked with talent and experience across the entire field. Either would be more than worthy Grand Final opponents for the Tonners.
We saw Xavs hang with Old Brighton for three-and-a-half quarters last week, so we know if they get through, they are capable of pushing the Tonners to the limit.
We know Old Scotch’s best is as good as anyone’s, and the mind games next week should they progress will be fascinating.
So who gets there?
VAFA premiership coaches Daniel Ward and Hugo Higginbotham will be in the VAFA Media commentary box for this blockbuster, so let’s get their thoughts on the Keys to the Game for both teams:
HUGO HIGGINBOTHAM’S KEYS TO THE GAME – OLD XAVERIANS
THE RUCK BATTLE
Old Brighton ruck Felix Flockart was our SKINS Player of the Match in the Second Semi - so dominant in the ruck contests and in the air (both ahead of and behind the football). Old Xaverians ruck Alec Spralja was up against it then, and he will be again this weekend when he faces off with Old Scotch and Big V ruckman Sam Grant.
Grant’s not only a force in the ruck, but also behind the football as a key intercept marker. If Spralja can get the best of him in the ruck battle, he’ll be able to provide his midfielders with their best chance of getting the ball forward at pace, to the advantage of some of the best forwards in the competition, led by Charlie MacIsaac.
KICK A SCORE, WIN THE GAME
Rather than capitalising on quality entry, the Xavs kicked their goals opportunistically against the Tonners. Shallow entries, high entries and congestion Inside 50 made it tricky for key forwards Charlie MacIsaac and Ed Delany.
If they’re sharper going inside 50 and can find more space to work with (as we’ve seen from the Xavs this year when they’ve been in form), we’ll see a spread of goalkickers and probably an Old Xaverians win.
THE LONG AND SHORT OF IT
At this stage, it looks as if it’ll be wet and slippery at Elsternwick Park on Saturday afternoon. It’ll be a ground-level game, in which case the footy will be tough to mark and therefore control. If the Xavs opt for a small in place of a tall, they might be able to capitalise on the conditions. That decision could come as late as Saturday morning.
RESTRICT OLD SCOTCH’S UNCONTESTED GAME
The Cards’ midfielders and ball-carrying running defenders are capable of racking up huge numbers. They will use every blade of grass and shuffle the footy around until they find a path around and through congestion, typically taking the easiest option by foot, all the way down the ground to their key forwards.
The Xavs must stop this. They have to eliminate the easy kick-mark option and force long, slow kicks down the line, limiting the Cards’ aggressive shifting of the football and subsequently dangerous forward entries. The Xavs' forwards will have to come higher up the ground to apply a full-ground defence.
DANIEL WARD’S KEYS TO THE GAME – OLD SCOTCH
PRESSURE AROUND THE MIDDLE OF THE GROUND
This messes with Xavs’ ball use inside 50 and allows Charlie Cormack - the best aerialist in the game - to come off and intercept. He was so influential early in last year’s Grand Final as an intercept defender who impacts the flow of a game and can negate an opposition team’s midfield being on top by turning them around at half-back.
With wet conditions expected, Scotch’s pressure needs to be on. Last week, the Cards’ defence held up brilliantly against SKOB, but they need dirty ball from the midfield to shut down Xavs’ forwards.
With wet conditions expected, Scotch’s pressure needs to be on. Last week, the Cards’ defence held up brilliantly against SKOB, but they need dirty ball from the midfield to shut down Xavs’ forwards.
SAM GRANT
As Hugo mentioned, not only will his battle with Spralja be crucial in the middle of the ground, but Sam also impacts games defensively. He pushes back hard into Defensive 50 and can help Cormack cut off entries from Xavs.
MAKE THE GROUND BIG
The Cards can use their uncontested game to force Xavs to defend for extended periods. Elsternwick Park is a big ground and takes a lot of energy (particularly in the wet) to cover defensively. Make them use energy chasing you rather than attacking themselves.
STRONG START
Old Scotch is on a roll at the moment and playing with great confidence, so Mark Gnatt will be looking for his team to start well and put the pressure on Xavs early. They have been riding a wave of momentum over the past month, and a strong start here will help them continue that.
Old Xavs have won their last three against Old Scotch – both meetings this season (81 points in Round 4, then 45 points in Round 14) plus a tight 9-point game in Round 18 last year.
Who wins when it matters most and moves to within four quarters of a premiership cup?
For Xavs, it would be their first top-flight Grand Final since their 2016 premiership.
For the Cards, it would be their first back-to-back top-flight Grand Finals since 1997-98 (when they lost both to Old Xavs, who were in the midst of their incredible six straight flags).
VAFA MEDIA TIPS:
Daniel Ward – Old Scotch by 20pts
Hugo Higginbotham - Old Scotch by 9pts
Paddy Grindlay - Old Scotch by 21pts
“I think they’ve got too much momentum at this point of the season… The Cards have just been here before. They’re confident. They know they can do it, because they have.”
Matthew Donald – Old Scotch by 17pts
“We’ve seen this story before with the Cardinals… Seeing Old Scotch firsthand last week, they were so impressive with the way that they moved the ball under the intensity and pressure of a finals atmosphere.”
It’s going to be a fantastic contest, and you can watch it streaming LIVE & EXCLUSIVELY on Kommunity TV, with our award-winning radio coverage LIVE & FREE on VAFA.com.au & the SEN app from 1.55pm Saturday!
