The 2026 VAFA Premier Section fixture was released this week.

Here are the major features:

· A late start, two weeks after Easter

· Old Trinity and Caulfield Grammarians come in forDe La Salle and Collegians

· 11 July is a bye, but the double bye is gone

· 4 June is King’s Birthday bye, also the Repfootball weekend, comes after just seven rounds

· 5 September is the bye preceding the three-weekfinals’ series which concludes AFL GF eve 25 September

· There are some serious fixture anomalies: Xavsplay Old Trinity in Rs 1 and 9; Old Brighton in R7 and R14; Kevs in R1 and R16;and Haileybury in R10 and R17.

· All home and away games are listed for Saturdays,and there are no back-to-back home stands or road trips.

THE SCHEDULE

R1 - 18 April @ St Kevin's

Another early season trip to the King. Last year, the X-Men went close, but the Red ‘n’ Blacks have won just twice there against the Kevins in nine tries. In 2016 and 2021, Xavs were too good. It’s time to win again.

R2 - 25 April v Old Trinity

Xavs’ Anzac Day home opener will provide a long-awaited return to Toorak Park for the Ts. We haven’t seen the Hedgeburners since 2022, but we do recall that period 2014-2018 when they beat the X-Men four times in five tries.

R3 - 2 May @ Old Scotch

This is always a meaningful clash, but given the result of last season’s preliminary final, there is that little bit extra riding on the result. Xavs have won seven of their last 11 games at Camberwell.

R4 - 9 May v Caulfield 

Old friend Paul Satterley will lead the Fields back to Toorak Park after their great season in Premier B under his tutelage in 2025. The visitors will be keen to impress but will be aware that the Hoops has lost their last three there (2021-23) by 100+ points.

R5 - 16 May @ Uni Blues

The first of two trips to Parkville, and to a ground where the X-Men are eight of their last 14. Uni Oval has always been a bit of a leveller for visiting teams, but Xavs have won their last three there against Les Bleues.

R6 - 23 May v St Bernard's

There were many weeks last season when we didn’t expect to be seeing the Snow Dogs this year. But heret hey are. Always a tough, persistent outfit, the Pitters won at Orrong Road in 2014-15, but those were their only victories in their past 11 visits.

R7 - 30 May @ Old Brighton

There is a season, turn, turn... Of the last nine Trackside, we’ve seen three by three-year cycles. It’s time to swing it back to Red ‘n’ Black ,but knocking over the reigning premier at BBO won’t be an easy task. It never is.

R8 - 13 June v Uni Blacks

After the King’s Birthday, the X-Men will host Uni Blacks. Les Noirs have won three of their last nine here, including two close ones in 2023-24. The Blacks are always a worthy opponent and recent campaigns suggest the Phoenix is again on the rise.

R9 - 20 June @ Old Trinity

A trip to the Ponderosa, that lush green, long, wide ranch that is home to the Green Machine can prove difficult and the X Men are five and five in their last ten. Still, it’s been three years since the last visit, and this will be the long-awaited tiebreaker.

R10 - 27 June v Old Haileybury

The Bloods, now coached by former SKOB/Uni Blues gaffer Guy Martyn, have run Xavs close at Toorak Park in their last two visits, but have not won. Given half the schedule will have been played by the time the Bloods visit, we will know plenty about the respective teams.

R11 - 4 July @ Caulfield

Off to Glenhuntly Reserve forthe return bout with the Fieldsmen. The X-Men lost there in 2021-22 but torchedthem in 2023 by 66 points. Xavs also won there easily in 2012.

R12 - 18 July v Uni Blues

The Carmody Cup clash has itsfifth iteration, with the X-Men keen to keep on winning it. Blues have won fourof the past dozen clashes on Orrong Road, the latest in 2021, but the X-Menhave smashed them at their two most recent starts.

R13 - 25 July @ St Bernard's

A trip to West Essendon to play on one of Melbourne’s best surfaces is always a day to be anticipated. The Snow Dogs were horrible at home last season, but even so, Xavs have won eight of their past ten at the Snakepit.  Can they build on that?

R14 - 1 August v Old Brighton

The Tonners come to Toorak Park where they have dominated the X-Men in recent years, winning four of the last five on Orrong Road. The Red ‘n’ Blacks will be keen, desperate, to reverse this curse.

R15 - 8 August @Uni Blacks

The Xavs play under the spires for the second time in the campaign. Their record against Blacks since 2011 is less than brilliant at two from eight. Mind you, those two wins were in the past two seasons.

R16 - 15 August v St Kevin's

Xavs have taken three of the last four TP contests and will want to boost that winning percentage against the SKOBS, one of the comp’s powerhouses since their return to Premier ten years ago.

R17 - 22 August @ Old Haileybury

The trip to Parc des Princes last season saw the visitors win by nearly fifteen goals, avenging their defeatthere two years earlier. This third clash since the Haileybury moved from the Badlands is another tie-breaker against a spirited opponent.

R18 - 29 August v Old Scotch

The X-Men welcome the Caledonians to close the home and away season. These teams could be finalists again in 2026, and nothing will be taken for granted in this big game.

‍