Round 4 Match Report
Round 4, Saturday 9 May 2026
Old Camberwell FC vs Old Melburnians FC at Gordon Barnard Reserve, North Balwyn
1st quarter: OCFC 2.1.13 OMFC 2.2.14
2nd quarter: OCFC 5.4.34 OMFC 3.3.21
3rd quarter OCFC 5.6.36 OMFC 6.5.41
4th quarter: OCFC 8.10.58 OMFC 9.8.62
Goals: Ben Haysman (2), Sam Laube (2), Ned Nichols (2), Dale (1), Luca Reid (1), Jack Spargo (1)
Best players: Ned Nichols, Louis Dalgleish, Lachie Haysman, Will Dethridge, Thomas Spargo, Sam Laube
Team: Jeremy a’Beckett (26), Charlie Boston (36), Nicky Christian (21), Leonardo Curtis (88), Hugo Dale (15), Louis Dalgleish (13), Will Dethridge (12), Ben Haysman (8), Lachie Haysman (9), Hugo Hines (22), Max Jane (27), Ned Nichols (3), Luca Reid (37), Will Richards (14), Sam Seccull (28), Jack Spargo (2), Tom Spargo (1, Captain), Lachie Templeton (16), Miles Tyrer (17), Gus Williams (35) and Liam Witts (5).
Match Report by Lurch
Louis Bunting, Andrew Chirnside, Harry Cooper, Lucas Cossettini and Tommy Marriner were replaced by Leonardo Curtis, Ben Haysman, Max Jane, Sam Laube and Luca Reid.
The weather was quite different to the warm and windy conditions of the previous two games. Some rain fell earlier in the day, but the game was dry and mostly overcast with bursts of sun. It was 14 degrees all game (said to feel like 13-15). Although the breeze varied from a southerly to south-south-westerly to west-south-westerly to a south-westerly windspeeds were only from 0-9km/h with gusts up to 17km/h.
The statistics (for what they’re worth) from the first three games suggested that the OMs should have had a slight edge at both ends of the ground against the Wellers, who thrashed the weakened OMs by 71 points at the same ground last year in a failed bid to make the finals.
With southerlies behind them, the OMs were first out of the centre chuck up as they kicked to the northern end that proved to be the scoring end. However, it was the Wellers that ran down the ground and goaled first, three minutes in. The footy was well contested before Ben Haysman celebrated his first game of the year with a set shot goal from a free kick two minutes later. Nicky Christian kicked long out of the middle, and after a forward battle Sam Laube celebrated his return from injury with a snap and a goal that was deemed not to be. Scores were level at 7 all after a Weller miss and although the play went both ways, the OMs had much more of it in their half yet were unable to capitalise. Jack Spargo eventually took a contested mark and after drilling his set shot from the northwest the sun broke free of the clouds only for the Wellers to shadow it with a goal to level scores at 13 with 18 minutes played. Good transition by the OMs gave Jack an opportunity but he dropped the mark. At the other end the OMs denied the Wellers a goal on the last line. Luca Reid took a fantastic towering pack mark in the northeast. The siren sounded before he took his set shot, which he missed from inside the arc to give the OMs the narrowest of leads.
Laube marked early in the second quarter, but his set shot from directly in front, outside the arc, fell short. Although the OMs did well to keep it forward, they were unable to have another shot before the Wellers ran up the ground to goal and take a 19-15 lead at the three-minute mark. The double blue and golds attacked again, but the OMs rushed it through. Thereafter the Wellers had it in their half for a long time but only managed to miss a set shot. Eventually the OMs got forward, received a free kick, and a short kick set up Hugo Dale, who goaled from directly in front. It was 21 all at the 14-minute mark.
Although the OMs had several opportunities to set up a shot for goal inside the arc, both sides kept turning it over by dropping marks. The Wellers attacked hard for several minutes before goaling at the 21-minute mark to be a goal clear. Although the OMs briefly got into their half, the Wellers missed a set shot but backed up with a goal in play to take a 34-21 lead at the 24-minute mark. Two minutes later the OMs had the numbers as they headed into an open goal but managed to muff the golden opportunity. The Wellers took possession and the siren sounded.
With the wind in the third quarter, the OMs were first into attack, but the Wellers were first to score, with a behind after several minutes. The Dark Blues worked up the ground and Ben Haysman snapped a goal in play to make it 35-27 at the four-minute mark. Both sides dropped the ball a lot before the OMs applied strong sustained pressure in a good battle up forward until a tackle by Ned gave him a free kick. He goaled from directly in front to make it 35-33 after 11 minutes. Once again, the OMs worked forward, but Christian’s snap was a miss, with another OM miss levelling the scores. Play then went both ways until the Wellers missed a set shot. The OMs gradually worked up the eastern boundary line to give Reid a nice mark in the northeast. His set shot goal gave the OMs a 36-41 lead which they maintained until the siren after a Weller set shot fell short and was cleared out.
While it was great to be back in front at the last change, the Wellers had the scoring end for the last quarter and goaled in the second minute to lead by a point. After they missed a set shot a minute later the lights were turned on. An OM gave away a 50m penalty that soon set up a Weller set shot, but it was another miss. However, they stayed in attack and goaled at the eight-minute mark for a 50-41 lead, adding another goal two minutes later. They had their tails up and the signs were worrying. The game felt like it was slipping away from the OMs. However, there was a reprieve when the Wellers missed yet another set shot. The OMs had the same problem at the other end with a long set shot by Dale falling short and being rushed. Fighting hard, the Dark Blues kept the footy in the danger zone until Ned manufactured something from nothing: he got the footy near the southwest boundary line, ran, straightened up, fired, and goaled.
Winning in the middle, the OMs were running into attack when Laube was taken high. His opponent was mightily upset by the adjudication and made it known, resulting in Laube being invited to take 50 large paces south. With no-one standing the mark, he goaled to make it 58-54 at the 17-minute mark. The Wellers went hard at the other end but desperate defence by the OMs twice saved the lead. Going the other way, an OM snap from a pack was touched, and Ned’s snap missed. At the 25-minute mark it was 58-56, and in a low-scoring game the quarters had not been long. Was there enough time? There was a tough battle in the OMs’ forward line until Laube was taken down in a dangerous tackle. He took his free kick from about 35m out in the southeast and scored truly at the 27-minute mark to give the OMs a four-point lead. The ball returned to the middle and bare seconds elapsed before the final siren declared that the OMs had won!
It was a very memorable finish through a combination of good luck and great effort. Despite a bleak second quarter that the Wellers dominated, the OMs kept them goalless in the third quarter. Although the Wellers had the breeze and early momentum in the final quarter, the OMs never gave up, even when it looked bleak at 56-41. Neither side scored more than three goals in a quarter, but the OMs achieved that at the non-scoring end in the last quarter. The Wellers’ final quarter inaccuracy was fatal. Also notable was that in addition to moving the ball better across and up the ground than last week, the OMs’ mids gave the forwards better opportunities, with most goals scored from either directly in front or from reasonable angles within a good range.
The OMs remain seventh due to their weak percentage, but still have the second-best defence. They are now a game clear of Camberwell and join the teams from third to seventh with two wins. The OMs return to Elsternwick Park to take on Old Geelong (10th, with one win, against Camberwell), which it beat both times last year. The OGGs have had the misfortune of playing three of the top four sides, only one of which (Beaumaris) the OMs have also played (a loss), making it difficult to gauge how the two will stack up. We’ll learn this Saturday.
See you there.
Lurch.