Round 9 Match Report
Round 9, Saturday 20 June 2026
Collegians FC vs Old Melburnians FC at Harry Trott Oval, St Kilda
1st quarter: CFC 5.6.36 OMFC 1.1.7
2nd quarter: CFC 9.9.63 OMFC 3.4.22
3rd quarter CFC 12.10.82 OMFC 4.5.29
4th quarter: CFC 14.13.97 OMFC 5.7.37
Goals: Hugo Dale (1), Jonathan Maher (1), Henry Nicholls (1), Will Preston, Ollie Tyrer (1)
Best players: Jack Spargo, Lachie Templeton, Olly Williams, Leonardo Curtis, Will Preston, Louis Dalgleish
Team: Jeremy a’Beckett (26), Andrew Chirnside (86), Sam Connock (87), Harry Cooper (23), Leonardo Curtis (88), Hugo Dale (15), Louis Dalgleish (13), Will Dethridge (12), Hugo Hines (22), Sam Laube (20), Jonathan Maher (42), Tommy Marriner (31), Henry Nicholls (25), Will Preston (11), Will Richards (14), Sam Seccull (28), Jack Spargo (2), Tom Spargo (1, Captain), Lachie Templeton (16), Ollie Tyrer (32), Gus Williams (35) and Olly Williams (18).
Match Report by Lurch
Spencer Anderson, Charlie Boston and Louis Bunting were replaced by Sam Connock, Leonardo Curtis and Tommy Marriner.
This game saw first (Collegians) take on second (OMs) with Collegians (effectively Old Wesley) unbeaten and the OMs having won five out of eight after a slow start. The closest losing margins against Collegians had been 10 and 22 points respectively, which gave the OMs some hope that – despite missing players – that they could do the same or better.
The game was played on a dry day with the match temperature 13 degrees all game (said to feel like 9-11) with the south-south-westerly wind direction as consistent as the temperature. It was a 9-19km/h breeze with gusts of 20-32 that favoured the north end.
It was a mostly sunny winter’s day with some white clouds but no hotdogs, none at all. The ground had seen recent heavy use (MGS lost to Wesley by a point there the previous night) and was very soft, with 5mm of rain that morning. The centre was a cow paddock that by game’s end was slowing players down by up to 50%.
In the absence this week of coach James Byrne, assistant coach and OMFC legend Josh ‘Fridge’ Freezer took the reins for the day.
The Lions dominated from the start of the game with a goal within the first 90 seconds and two more quickly followed, during which the OMs were only once briefly inside their arc. Following a long battle on the southeast boundary line, the OMs pushed forward and Ollie Tyrer read the play beautifully from a stoppage directly in front of goal, getting around a few in heavy traffic, gathering the footy and snapping truly at the 18-minute mark. The OMs went again, and Hugo Hines was hit up nicely, but his set shot from directly in front inside the arc against the breeze was offline. The Lions’ response was emphatic and told the story of what the OMs weren’t doing well – five uncontested possessions end to end for a goal. It was 27-7 at the 25-minute mark but due to increased OM resistance it took seven minutes for the boys in purple to goal again.
When the siren ended the 33-minute first quarter with a 36-7 scoreline it felt like the game was already over. In any other game this season it might have been seen as an exciting challenge rather than as an impossibility, but to a man the Collegians were taller, stronger, more experienced and the OMs were letting them do what they did very well by mostly playing too far off their men in heavy conditions.
The OMs had the wind in the second quarter, but the Lions were first out of the blocks. Despite that, the OMs kicked to their forwards but the footy rolled through for a behind in the first minute. The OMs gave away a 50m penalty but Collegians thankfully only scored a behind after which the OMs attacked hard for a long time until Will Preston marked and nailed a nice set shot at the eight-minute mark. Two minutes later Tommy Marriner had a set shot from the northwest and missed to the left by the barest of margins. Collegians responded by running into an open goal to make it 42-15 at the 12-minute mark. The OMs frustratingly gave away another 50m penalty to give the Lions a certain goal that was instead a miraculous miss.
Immediately back into attack, the OMs gave Hugo Dale the footy deep forward, but he was immediately tackled and the Lions ran up the ground and goaled to make it 50-15 at the 17-minute mark. Not only because of the scoreline but because of the Lions’ near-complete domination, it was evident that it was game over. That didn’t stop the OMs from having a crack, though, winning in the middle and then battling in the midst of a huge congested pack in front of goal until Jonathan Maher – looking almost casual as he kept his eye on the footy on the ground between many pairs of feet – pounced when he saw a gap to soccer it a few metres for a goal. There was a conference between field and goal umpire as Collegians insisted it had bounced off every one of their boots enroute to the goal line, but it was duly awarded to Maher. Nineteen minutes in, it was 50-21.
Although the OMs had some of the footy, Collegians goaled at the 26 and 28-minute marks. The Dark Blues then won in the middle and Dale got the footy on the boot to what was an optimistic option – one OM against two opponents contesting in the goal square until the footy hit the right goal post. The 31-minute quarter ended two minutes later with an insurmountable 41-point deficit – unless - perhaps, hopefully - the older, bigger Collegians got tired….
From the start of the third quarter the OMs played positive footy that gave them control but no scores. The Lions showed how it’s done by running up the ground and goaling four minutes in. After another set shot miss by the OMs, Collegians goaled to make it 75-23 at the 13-minute mark, adding another four minutes later. Despite the Lions’ near-total domination of the play, there was the occasional glimmer of light. Henry Nicholls booted the ball goalward with no-one ahead of it. As players of both colours ran after it, it bounced and bounced and bounced and went through the correct pair of sticks for a rare highlight. However, the reality was the 81-29 scoreline at the 29-minute mark…. and the OMs had lost Sam Laube to injury. The siren sounded a minute later.
The ladder positions from 2nd to 10th being so tightly contested, saving as much of the OMs’ percentage as possible was critical. The purple-clad boys didn’t care about that though, goaling in the first minute of the final quarter – not that they needed it. Andrew Chirnside was tackled high and took a set shot that missed to the right. After Dale was blocked from contesting the footy he received a free kick on a tight angle from the northeast and scored truly from a very nice set shot. Seven minutes in, it was 88-35. Maher’s kick to Dale was a misfire that turned it over directly to an opponent, and although Collegians raced forward and missed a sitter, they followed up with a goal in play to make it 97-35 at the 19-minute mark. Nicholls executed a fantastic smother on a Collegian defender and Preston laid a great tackle on the Collegian receiver of the deflected footy – but missed his set shot from about 35m out, directly in front. The quarter mercifully ended after 27 minutes.
It was a tough day at the office for the OMs. Few teams are ever at full-strength, and although the Collegians had lost some players, they were bolstered by three VFL players, adding to the eight others on the team with VFL experience (according to post-match Collegian sources). Some were Premier A premiership players, so the OMs really were playing against a team accustomed to success at the highest level – and it showed. After the disappointing first quarter in which the OMs gave far too much latitude to a very dangerous team, the OMs gradually improved, and although the effort was not consistent, there was generally a much better contest for the remainder of the game. Even in the last minutes, with many players covered head-to-toe in mud with numbers blacked out and colours almost indistinguishable – and the game well-and-truly lost, the OMs were still putting in some good hard efforts to stem the tide. It was unfortunate that much of that effort was not rewarded on the scoreboard.
Jack Spargo was the OMs’ best player. He played a different role, starting at full forward then went into the ruck to try to neutralise the big Collegian ruckman. He had great follow-up efforts and made an impact around the ground.
Lachie Templeton led the way for the OMs out of the bog that was the centre. He sharked the Collegians’ ruck work and worked hard trying to shut down Collegians’ dominant midfield. His left foot was put to good work giving the OMs some useful transition.
Olly Williams was probably the only OM defender to beat his man all day with proactive positioning, fierce competitiveness and doing the basics well.
Leonardo Curtis was given a run-with role (after Collegians’ dominant first quarter) on the Lions’ best player, making a good effort of neutralising him and getting some of the ball for himself.
Will Preston presented and competed well up forward, especially in the air, and scored 20% of the OMs’ rare goals….
Louis Dalgleish’s game was like that of Tempo. He was very good at the contest, gave the OMs first use, tackled extremely well and played consistently.
Due to the 12% hit to their percentage, the OMs went from second place down to the fourth spot they had two weeks earlier.
This week the OMs take on Beaumaris for the second time. In Round 1 Beaumaris, newly promoted as the 2025 Premier C premiers, was keen to make a statement, and won by 95-69. The OMs have undoubtedly improved since then and have a 5-4 record after playing all teams while Beaumaris has a 3-6 record and is ninth. That said, the personnel have changed since that game, and more players have been lost to the dreaded travel bug. The game will be at Trevor Barker Oval, Sandringham.
See you there.
Lurch.