It was a game of two halves at Camberwell Sports Ground. For the Blues, the equation was simple: win and finish fourth, or lose and leave their finals chances in the hands of the football gods. But for the first half of the game it looked as though the Blues were going to take their chances with the gods as Old Scotch ran rampant kicking 10 of the game's first 12 goals. The news from Harry Trott Oval was not good either, as Collegians were winning and poised to steal fourth spot. Fortunately for Blues fans and players, sustained pressure turned things around and the Blues kicked 18 of the final 20 goals to run out the second half 44 point winners. Mark Paterson was superb as always and adds another UCLA t-shirt to his expanding wardrobe. Mick Lewis and Matt Torney broke the lines with their run and kicking, while Charles Shaw (4 goals) and Dan Nicholson also worked hard all day. Jack Watts was another dominant player for the Blues and George de Crespigny made a welcome return to the team with 4 goals. Andrew Lowcock was not content with his second place on Almost Football Legends and took another screamer to send in. He also kicked two goals, as did Isaac Orr and Dirk Heinz.

The win means Blues finish the home and away season in fourth place and sets up a 1st Semi-Final date at Elsterwick Park next Sunday at 2:00pm with reigning premier St.Bedes/Mentone who lost their round 18 second place play-off away to De La Salle. Get along to support the Blues in their finals campaign.

University Blues:  19 - 14 - 128

Old Scotch:         12 - 12 - 84

Best: M.Paterson, M.Lewis, M.Torney, C.Shaw, J.Watts, D.Nicholson

Goals: G.de Crespigny 4, C.Shaw 4, D.Heinz 2, A.Lowcock 2, I.Orr 2, Q.Gleeson 1, J.Watts 1, B.McConnell 1, J.Mugavin 1, M.Lewis 1

Reserves - Take The Points Against Old Scotch

Uni Blues twos came up against an opponent looking to win to keep their finals chance alive. Unluckily for Old Scotch, the Blues were not about to give away their winning momentum. The game started evenly until John Wood set the tone mid-way through the second quarter with a couple of solid bumps. His team-mates started working harder to force the ball forward and put enormous pressure on Scotch's backline. Liam Quin, 2 goals, kicked a brilliant soccer goal to break the deadlock, and the Blues piled on another 3 for the quarter to create a match-winning lead. Al Lyon and Simon Gilbertson were great all day running the ball out of defence and Tim Muhlebach put on some solid bumps around the ground to help his team-mates out. Tom Stainforth had a good cameo up forward with 3 goals, and Jono Vickers-Willis roamed the ground and also kicked 3. Tom Pryde has been in great form and was also rewarded with 3 goals for his efforts. Also pleasing for Coach Guengerich was the return to form of Matt Maltmann and Tim Fitzgerald after both had been injured earlier in the season. The win means that the Blues finish the home and away season in top spot.

But this all counts for little next Saturday at 11:30am as they take on Old Xaverians in the 2nd-Semi Final at VAFA HQ.

University Blues: 15 - 8 - 98

Old Scotch:        8 - 7 - 55

Best: A.Lyon, T.Muhlebach, J.Vickers-Willis, M.Maltmann, T.Fitzgerald, S.Gilbertson

Goals: T.Stainforth 3, J.Vickers-Willis 3, T.Pryde 3, L.Quin 2, B.Millard 1, T.Muhlebach 1, B.Mugavin 1, M.Maltmann 1

Under 19 - Win First Semi Final And Eliminate Old Scotch

To complete a great weekend for the club and a horror weekend for Old Scotch, Uni Blues Under 19s won their elimination final by 10 points on Sunday. The Blues have risen from 8th spot on the ladder at the end of May by winning 10 out of the 14 games played so their form has come good at the right time of year. The Blues were 1-all with Old Scotch this year having lost away by 28 points and won at home by the same margin. Based on these stats it was a 50:50 contest however with the U19 Amatuer Footballer scribe, who probably knows the competetion as well as anyone, tipping a narrow Old Scotch win. As the Blues U19's now know, finals football is a different game and after a strong start, the Blues had the upper hand and control of the game. Hugh Vickers-Willis had his second best-on-ground in as many weeks and Angus Nice also continued his great form this year. Albert Weddell kicked 2 goals in a low-scoring affair showing that he could be an important player in this finals series despite being injured for much of the year. Ben McClure and Tom Fairbairn are other players who work hard, use their bodies and seem well-suited to playing well in finals, which was demonstrated today. Llewyn Butler also played well and has been a great addition to this Under 19 side. The win means that Uni Blues progress to the Preliminary Final against minor premier De La Salle with the winner to meet Old Xaverians in the Grand Final.

For supporters, the Preliminary Final is at 2:15pm next Saturday at Central Reserve (cnr Springvale & Waverley Roads, Glen Waverley). For the really old timers this is Mazenod's home ground. Go Junior Blues!

University Blues: 8 - 16 - 64

Old Scotch:        7 - 12 - 54

Best: H.Vickers-Willis, A.Nice, B.McClure, T.Fairbairn, L.Butler, S.Sealey

Goals: A.Weddell 2, J.Wooley 1, J.Townley 1, W.Hartnell 1, T.Day 1, L.Butler 1, F.Bradley 1