Live stream: St Kevin’s v Old Scotch, VAFA Premier Men preliminary final

The Cardinals will face Old Brighton in the Premier Men’s decider on Friday afternoon after knocking over St Kevins in an exciting preliminary final. Catch up on the REPLAY.

Old Scotch produced an amazing final quarter display to run away with a VAFA Premier Men’s preliminary final that looked anything but one-sided at three-quarter time.

The Cardinals only led St Kevins by a goal at the final change but kicked seven goals to one in the last term to win by 44 points.

The win secures a Grand Final showdown with Old Brighton on Friday afternoon at Elsternwick Park.

Cooper Lean kicked four goals, including two in the final quarter, Will Clark nabbed three and Ryan Valentine and Angus Symons two each as Old Scotch continued their momentum from last weekend’s big win over Collegians.

PREVIEW

The Old Scotch has a new found confidence heading into the VAFA Premier men’s preliminary final according to coach Mark Gnatt.

The Cardinals gave themselves a shot at a grand final berth after eliminating reigning premier Collegians last weekend.

Now they’ll do battle for a place in the decider against St Kevin’s at Elsternwick Park on Saturday from 2.30pm.

The game will be streamed LIVE and EXCLUSIVE on KommunityTV through the Herald Sun website.

After their season ended in the first week of finals in 2023, Gnatt said last week’s win signalled a moment of “massive growth”.

Old Scotch player Ryan Valentine in action for the side earlier in the VAFA Premier Men season. Picture: Dennis Timm/VAFA

“We’re going to take a lot of confidence from that game,” he said.

“To win a final shows how far this group has come in the last 12 months. We’re enjoying the ride at the moment and are aiming to keep this going for as long as possible.”

Recent history suggests the Cardinals are right in the mix to win the flag from outside the top-two.

They beat Old Brighton, who are awaiting this weekend’s winner in the grand final, and SKOB in a two-week period late in the season.

Gnatt’s side walked away from St Kevin’s with a 48-point win on the back of a dominant second half display.

“Finals footy is a different game but you can take a little bit away from those games,” he said.

“You can take elements of the game that worked for you and other areas which didn’t improve those.

St Kevin's Samuel Tucker celebrates a goal during last year’s VAFA Premier Men’s grand final. Picture: Andy Brownbill

“St Kevin’s are very experienced at playing at this time of year and we’ve got a lot of respect for them.”

Given the two sides faced off at the TH King Oval in their last meeting, Gnatt is looking forward to getting out on Elsternwick Park.

“The bigger ground suits us,” he said.

“I think it allows us to bring our strengths to the table.”