June 25, 2026
WE'RE HALFWAY THERE
... and some are livin' on a prayer
A Century of the Red & Black
A super Saturday with wins by the Seniors, Reserves, WOX and U19 x 2. And on Sunday the WOX 2s did it again. Fantastic effort by all teams.
The competition leader Old Xaverians won their eighth on end in downing Old Haileybury at Toorak Park by 15 points. The scoreboard tells us it was a tight game and so it appeared for much of the afternoon with Haileybury attempting to disrupt the Xaverian rthyrn with extra men behind the ball. The Bloods have stolen a couple of wins this year by hanging tough and then pouncing at the end on frustrated foes.
Their approach paid dividends early, with the visitors dominating possession and pressuring hard as the X-Men sought to thread their way forward through the heavy traffic. Haileybury scored all of their three first term goals from turnovers. Despite this, the scores were tied at the first change.
In the second term, the Bloods picked off the Xavs often enough to add another four goals, all in time-on, to go out to an 18 point lead at half-time. However, the signs were already there that the Claret and Stout had begun to rev the engine. In the opening stanza, the Magenta Men had dominated disposals by 14 and marks by 17. In the second, the Xavs flipped the stat book and had 30 more disposals and 17 more marks.
After the half, the home team again fared well enough in the air, but crushed the vistors with 86 more disposals, split evenly beween the two quarters. The third term set the scene but the Xavs could only tie it before they went to the lemons, courtesy of some uncharacteristically poor goalkicking. The last term saw the X-Men jump away and turn off the tap altogether. Again, the goalshooting was slipshod. But at 17 minutes gone, and the game on the table for the taking, Julian Gangi goaled and a couple of minutes later, Charlie Holmes took a strong goalsquare mark and to the crowd's great delight, popped it through. As they hit time on, Haileybury needed some late heroics, but their final lunge saw them go wide twice. The Red 'n' Blacks added a woeful 4.13 after the long break, but conceded just four points.
Despite the game registering low on the spectacle scale, it was a solid and valuable hitout for Dan Donati's team. Jack Whitehead anchored the defence and was strong in the air and with his rebound. Tommy Hart was dominating in defence before moving forward where he coninued to play a valuable role. Ed Delany was dagerois all day, whether rucking or up forward. Bobby Knott, the man who torched the Bloods for a career high six goals last year at Parc des Princes was electric at times, taking contested marks and creating opportunities. Will Goss came back into the team and immediately resumed his rebound caper, while Sam Fisher continues to improve each week. Tommy McRae did plenty of hard work and kicked a nice goal in the thrid term that put his team back in front.
Special mention to Will MacIsaac, who made his senior debut. He looks likely to terrorise opposition defences playing alongside his cousin Charlie for some time to come. Will was lively early but like his teammates, found the goalface a bit narow.
Next week, the Red 'n Blacks will need to get the whips cracking a bit earlier, as Caulfield Grammarians earned their spurs by knocking over Old Brighton at BBO. There is a fair chance the Hoops will have quite a few of their VFL-listers available and old friend Paul Satterley will have his team fully charged. The Fieldsmen might have looked easy prey earlier in the year, but they have a chance at playing finals if their form holds.
Old Brighton (67) had another home loss, this time to Caulfield Grammarians (73) with a goal at 33 minutes breaking the tie. Old Scotch (100) survived a late challenge from St Bernard's (96) at Scotch College. Bernies had the final three shots, but two of them missed. St Kevins (172) murdered Old Trinity (57) at Moonga Road, with Jake Koschitzke booting eight goals. Under the spires, Blues (78) won it late from Uni Blacks (64) after the score was tied as they hit time-on in the last.
These results have altered the ladder - SKOB is now the leading offence, three teams sit on three wins just ahead of St Bernard's on two. Cauldield is making a run at Brighton.
Old Xaverians held on for the narrowest of wins over Parkside. The fist haldfwas a goalfest, with the WOX sinking six and the visitors four, but in the second half, the yield was just two goals to the 'Siders and one very valuable behind to the Xavs.
George Kerr was best for a team that appears to be hitting top form at the right time. At 5-5 and in equal third, they have a good chance of shoring up their spot should they beat the lowly Old Yarra Cobras next week.
More to come
Xavs outlasted their grand U19 rival in a tense firnal term to beat De La Salle by a point.
Benji Dann was best for the X-Men, who find themselves in fifth place, bit just a game plus percentage from top spot. An 11:40 clash with Caulfield next week gives them another opportunity to push up the ladder.
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