Victorian Blind Football League Finals Preview
The Victorian Blind Football League (VBFL) is gearing up an action-packed weekend of finals matches, with a preliminary final taking place this Saturday 27 July before the grand final is battled out on Sunday.
Hawthorn have already locked in their place in the grand final after finishing the season on top of the ladder with nine wins and three losses, and are awaiting the outcome of Saturday's preliminary final to learn who they will be up against in Sunday's grand final.
Keep reading below for a preview of Saturday's match up between second place St Kilda and third place Port Melbourne.
Preliminary Final - St Kilda Football Club vs Port Melbourne Football Club
Saturday 27 July
10:00am
Action Indoor Sports Centre - Tullamarine
GRAND FINAL - Hawthorn Football Club v TBC
Sunday 28 July
10:00am
Action Indoor Sports Centre - Tullamarine
The VBFL Preliminary Final and Grand Final will be live streamed FREE on the VBFL Facebook page
Preliminary Final preview
Ladder Positioning
St Kilda: 2nd – (6W, 6L - 99%)
Port Melbourne: 3rd – (3W, 9L – 79%)
Previous Encounters
- Round 1: St Kilda: (60) def by Port Melbourne: (148) – PM by 88pts
- Round 2: Port Melbourne: (51) def by St Kilda: (150) – STK by 99pts
- Round 3: St Kilda: (145) def Port Melbourne: (96) – STK by 49pts
- Round 4: Port Melbourne: (75) def by St Kilda: (104) – STK by 29pts
- Round 5: St Kilda: (108) def Port Melbourne: (74) – STK by 34pts
- Round 6: Port Melbourne: (69) def by St Kilda: (96) – STK by 27pts
Season Tally: St Kilda (5) – Port Melbourne (1)
Match Preview
St Kilda will be coming into this Preliminary Final with plenty of confidence, having beaten Port Melbourne five times in a row throughout the regular season with an average winning margin of 47.6pts. The Borough only managed the one win against the Saints back in round one, winning that game comfortably by 88pts as Reuben Fairbank and David Gauci were on fire. Even though the Borough have been beaten convincingly by the Saints throughout the season, the Borough will have plenty of belief in their ability after they managed to record more victories over the first placed Hawks than St Kilda could produce which should give them plenty of confidence going into Saturday.
Key to Victory
St Kilda: When St Kilda have struggled in 2024, it’s when they are relying on Beau Jones to do bulk of the scoring, which he does have the ability to do. The Saints look most dangerous when they are utilising all their forwards. I’m looking at Caleb Neyenhuis as someone who can break this game open, he scored the most points in the 2023 season amongst the whole league and has looked dangerous the past couple of rounds.
Port Melbourne: Defensive Pressure. The Borough have allowed St Kilda to score 100+ in four of their six games season which they can’t allow if they are going to win on Saturday. Bridget Jolley and Courtney Lewis have improved each week in their defensive roles and have the ability to shut down the Saints forward line. As they say, defence wins championships!
Player to watch
St Kilda: Caleb Neyenhuis – Caleb was the league-leading scorer in the 2023 Season as an A-Class player, meaning his goals are worth 18-points. Caleb has strung together some fantastic form in the latter stage of the season and can break this game open for the Saints if utilized correctly.
Port Melbourne: Travis Zimmer – The Borough at times this year have struggled to put big scores on the board, making it tough for them to get over the top. Travis Zimmer has quietly been putting together a solid season and his goal-kicking form is hitting the sweet spot at the right end of the year. I’m looking at Trav to have a big game for the Borough.
