Old Carey remains in finals hunt after win over Old Trinity

Old Carey remains in the hunt for the VAFA Premier B finals and while it’s important to end the season on a high, coach Luke Giles gives an insight to why it’s more about 2026.

Old Carey has made a strong impression after being promoted. Photo: VAFA Media.

Old Carey coach Luke Giles sees his side’s last six games as a “dress rehearsal” for 2026.

The Panthers started what Giles described as a “mini-season” with an eight-point VAFA Premier B win over Old Trinity.

Sitting seventh place on the ladder, a finals place isn’t out of the question currently trailing Williamstown CYMS and Caulfield Grammarians by a game in percentage.

Old Carey is part of a ladder log jam with Old Camberwell and Old Geelong sharing the same 7-6 record while Old Melburnians is a game further back.

While Giles would love to see his side play finals footy, he stressed the importance of what this season has done after promotion from Premier C.

“History would say we’ve already got a tick for a pass mark,” Giles said.

“Whether or not we play finals, the next few games are about preparing for next year and stabilising itself in Premier B after being promoted.

“The second year in a different competition is probably more of a measurement of where you’re at. The ceiling for the club is unknown and it’s something we might learn more about before the end of the year.”

Old Carey was able to pick up the four points on Saturday afternoon after holding off a fast finishing trinity.

A goal at the 17-minute mark of the last quarter proved pivotal in the result.

“It’s the little things,” Giles said when asked what the focus was on heading into the game.

“There was a huge emphasis on being selfless and sometimes stepping outside your comfort zone. Insteading for searching for individual moments, it was about putting teammates in a better position and it probably resulted in five or six goals.

“We’ve known our best is good enough to beat almost anyone but execution has probably let us down at crucial times.

“If you’re talking about a well-rounded performance, this was it.”

Giles took over from Aaron Bailey at the start of the year and said he was enjoying the role.

He said the transition had been “smooth”.

“I had a really good head start being an assistant to Bails last year,” he said.

“Having the relationships and everything in place probably made it a lot easier.”

OLD IVANHOE GOES A GAME CLEAR

With Old Trinity dropping a game, Old Ivanhoe took a one-game advantage at the top of the ladder with a 30-point win over Williamstown CYMS. The ex-AFL names were at the forefront of the Hoers performance as Patrick Naish, Alex Mirkov and Toby McLean were named the best three players. Naish finished with a whopping 50 disposals and two goals.

BEHNK’S STUNNING RETURN

Jack Behnk had missed several games with injury and returned with a bang on the weekend. The St Bede’s Mentone forward booted 11 goals as his side recorded a 25-point win over Ajax. Behnk is now the competition’s leading goalkicker after kicked 11 of the 17 his side booted. The Tigers are now level at 10-3 with the Jackas.