A sport season to remember

A sport season to remember

Julius Kain Vice-Captain of School (Operations)

Additional First Teams reporting by James Spadanuda (AFL), Tane Hasler (Athletics), Tane Hasler (Cross Country), Mitchell Hyde (Hockey), Sean Palmer (Soccer), Pablo Munoz-Morillo and Tim Scheepers (Rugby), Dan Kerfoot and Ross Wittome (Badminton)

The Winter Sport season was a very successful one for Scotch College. Teams across all codes and all ages played with great spirit and sportsmanship.

We were named the champion school in four sports: Golf, Soccer (tied with Aquinas), Football (three in a row) and Athletics (five in a row).

Thanks to all boys for their efforts during the winter season, all coaches and managers for their time and expertise, and to all parents and spectators who helped create great atmospheres for our teams to play in front of. In particular, thanks to all Year 12 boys for what they have contributed to Scotch Sport over the years.

AFL

The PSA Football season was one to remember. A new year and a new team of motivated football players all striving for excellence.

The season started off well with two early wins. This run was shortly halted by a competitive and eager Wesley side. It was a hard loss but eventually proved to be a motivator over the coming months. Having no time to dwell on the result, the boys knew they had to focus on upcoming games to keep the season alive.

Day by day, the cohesion and culture amongst the group grew, creating excellent team football. We approached the season one game at a time. Slowly but surely, Round 11 came knocking on the door, the awaited rematch and top of the table clash between Scotch and Wesley. The result proved to be the decider in the future of retaining the Alcock Cup. We were mentally and physically prepared for the challenge and the belief in every single player motivated us to give it our all. We managed to take a commanding lead in the first quarter and from that point on, we never looked back, taking the victory to close out the round.

With only three games remaining in the PSA season and the finish line approaching, we put the foot firmly on the throttle and soared our way to 2022 Alcock Cup champions with convincing wins over Aquinas, Hale and Trinity to round out the season.

The team finished the season with an 11-1 record, and it was a testament to the hard work and endeavour that every single player and coach displayed throughout the year. I couldn’t be prouder to share the glory with such amazing mates and coaches. It is truly a season and moment in our lives which we will cherish for years to come.

Athletics

It was a day to remember, a spectacle which saw strong performances across all disciplines of track and field. From the time the boys arrived in the gym for the team photo you could tell the day was going to be special. We started off singing the school song followed by an inspirational speech by Mr Doney who talked about the guts of the team in previous years and how this year would be no easier.

Over the short four week season, the boys sacrificed hours and days of their spare time to venture down to the Gooch. With training starting back in the July school holidays for some and for the rest, shortly after the PSA Winter Sport season. The boys’ dedication played a crucial role in the success of the day.

The boys ran hard, jumped high, threw far and gave everything they had at this opportunity, leading Scotch College to its fifth consecutive Alcock Shield. This could not have happened without the efforts of the coaching staff led by Mr Doney, Mr Gale and Mr Gault who put long hours in ensuring that the boys were physically ready for the day. The team achieved a feat which no Scotch team has had the greatness of

accomplishing: five years in a row. It didn’t come easy but the boys lived up to the expectations of the College and competed, giving only their best and leading to success.

Badminton

The 2022 season of Badminton kicked off to a rocky start. With the major loss of four out of six Firsts players and our two minor coaches, from the mighty team that placed second in the 2021 season, our team was a patchwork of players. We faced the tough speed bumps of having our first game against the soon-to-be champions of 2022 Badminton Christ Church, the uncountable COVID-19 outs and some incredibly close games coming down to final doubles. However, through vigorous training we performed competitively for the first half of the season. As of the half-time break we had posted a respectable fourth place in the competition having lost our games against Wesley, Christ Church, and Hale.

The second half of the season and the quest for the Brother Kelly Cup started with a bye, allowing us to reflect on our performances and prepare for the next half of the season. Our final match of the first half of the season finished in a heartbreaking 5-4 loss against Hale so the boys were desperate to reassert themselves in the ladder. We bounced back with an 8-1 win over Guilford followed by a tight loss to Wesley. The boys continued to display their constituency with an 8-1 win against Aquinas and Trinity, however this was all in preparation for the next fixture against Hale. A win against Hale, would place us tie for third in the ladder. Unfortunately, Hale were determined to consolidate their position, and beat us 7-2, with a dominant performance.

Thank you to the assistant coaches Tim Imison and Milan Narula for their expertise and support throughout the season. Thanks to Head Coach Mr Ryan Foster for the excellent culture he builds at matches and trainings. The respect and humility displayed by each player is testament to the boys as individuals as well as the behaviour instilled by the coaches. We congratulate all boys who competed for all Badminton teams throughout this season and for competing with passion and heart.

Cross Country

The efforts of the Cross Country team this year have been truly amazing. We have grown, getting better every race. We knew we wouldn’t be competitors for the Peter Moyes Cup this season as we had a depleted team due to our limited numbers. Although with the season going on, boys were able to build character and grunt, making our team stronger and taking wins in the home and away season to Guilford and sliding away with a win to Trinity in a close race. We came away with close losses to Wesley and Hale in which we came away with bonus points. We tried our best against quality teams of Aquinas College and Christ Church where our top runners were able to test themselves against the best in the PSA.

With the second half of the season surrounding All Schools races, boys were challenged by the intimidation of all six PSA schools competing against each other in one event, having nearly 200 athletes competing in each race. Placing in a range between fifth and seventh portrays the ups and downs which the Scotch team faced. On our best days we were able to compete with stronger teams and thrive, however, on the poorer days, we were not so lucky. Overall, the boys’ efforts all season have been outstanding and it has been an honour to observe their improvements individually as well as a whole team.

Hockey

2022 was another memorable season with all the Scotch Hockey teams performing well across the board.

The 1st XI squad began pre-season at the end of Summer Term, looking to blow out the cobwebs. There was a strong showing of Year 10 boys as well as a few new faces in other years to help replace last year’s leavers.

Following a pre-season fixture against Shenton College, the team was set to face cross-town rivals, Christ Church. After scoring the first of the game, Christ Church proved too strong 5-1. Following this however, we won our next three fixtures as we looked towards a fiery Thursday afternoon battle with favourites, Hale. After playing our best game of the season, the game ended in a 3-3 draw.

We finished Autumn Term in third place as we regrouped for an important Winter Term ahead. Ultimately, the 1st XI team finished third, ending the season on a high with a 9-0 win over Trinity.

Scotch Hockey is in safe hands with strong younger age groups, as well as many Scotch boys selected in state representative teams. A huge thank you to Mr Mellor, Trid Woodhouse and Max Freedman for coaching as well as Ms Webster-Blythe for managing and offering sound advice.

Rugby

The boys started the year eager to improve from last year’s third place finish, and with the addition of new scrum coach Bill Davies, and regular appearance of OSC and now coach Connor O’Sullivan, the team was excited to kick off the season. The first game against Christ Church was competitive but concluded with a loss, perhaps due to the small number of First XV experience within the squad. This may have been an issue for the first game, but from then on, the hunger of the team grew, resulting in great wins against Guildford, Aquinas and Wesley to lead into the fixture against Hale which ended in an unfortunate loss. This was followed by a dominant win against Trinity the week after.

The second half of the season saw a well fought battle against a well drilled Christ Church which ended in a loss for Scotch. With multiple injuries plaguing the squad, Scotch v Guildford saw the majority of the starting team not playing, allowing younger boys to gain some minutes and experience a win. Top quality rugby followed in the first half of the Aquinas game, showcasing how clinical and precise they can be, with a 31-5 win. A tough, well fought game against Hale saw Scotch lose in tough conditions. Finally, an excellent end to the season and a goodbye to the Year 12s as Scotch won against Trinity College, in their final game.

Although Scotch did not bring home the Brother Redmond Trophy, this season will be one to remember, with awesome memories, forever lasting friendships, fun rugby, and great learning experiences not only as rugby players but as young men.

Soccer

The Firsts Soccer team had quite the season, winning the Lawe-Davies Cup. It wasn’t always plain sailing however. The boys started training early and an undefeated pre-season gave the side bounds of confidence in the first fixture drawing 1-1 against Christ Church.

Keen to bounce back, the team played Guilford where Aidan McKie secured 4 goals in a 6-4 thriller. Cruising past Wesley 4-1 the week after meant confidence was sky-high before facing a formidable Aquinas side. The boys fought an emphatic 1-0 victory thanks to a screamer from Kaleb Morrison and late heroics from goalkeeper Julius Kain.

The first fixture for the season held off a strong Hale side with another 1-0 victory. The halfway mark of the season would be made up at Trinity. Fireworks went off, several questionable referee decisions and a red card to our coach saw the boys stranded, sharing the points in a 3-3 draw.

Moving forward, the team needed to secure a 2-0 win against Christ Church. The final game of the term against Guilford, saw a weakened Scotch side and a draw. Heartbreak before the holiday.

Bouncing back in Winter Term, the boys cruised through the biggest victory of the year, against Wesley. Round 12 was the re-match, the decider between Scotch and Aquinas. A large crowd amassed for this defining game with a final score of 0-0.

For the penultimate fixture at Hale, Scotch and Aquinas were equal at the top of the table. In the pouring rain, Hale struck first, putting the boys behind with just 15 minutes to go. Not long after Scotch levelled the scores with Kaleb dancing past the Hale defence, netting his 11th goal of the season, a goal to keep the trophy hopes alive with just two minutes on the clock.

Going into the final fixture against Trinity, Scotch were level with Aquinas. The confident side showed all their class, breezing through a 4-0 result. Doing all we could, attention turned to the Aquinas game at Guilford, where a late goal meant Aquinas had also taken the three points and the trophy was shared.

This was a spectacular season, to finish undefeated in the league and take home the Cup for the first time in five years.

Surfing 2022

The 2022 Inter-House Competition was a great success, with pristine conditions for both surfing and boogie boarding. Brisbane House won the competition with some great surfing from Sam Jackson.

The PSA Surfing came shortly after. Scotch performed well, but were unable to win the shield back from Christ Church who were the winners overall. Hale came second and Trinity placed third in a show of surprising strength.

We moved to the Surfing WA Inter- School Surfing Competition with a solid team. However, with massive swell and unprecedented winds, the competition was moved to Mullaloo Beach. 35 knot winds and hail (!) proved to be quite a struggle, with boys sheltering underneath their boards in the water. Many of our surfers made it to the semi-finals with an all-Scotch semi-final between the Year 11s Ryder & Ben and Joe Edwards and Joe Matthews the Year 12s. However, it was the young guns who came out on top and made it to the Senior Surfing final only to be beaten by a solid JTC side.

On the boogie board, surfer turned proboogie boarder Rusty Macintosh was the X-factor in the metro competition. Not holding back, despite the tragic weather front, he managed to pull off some insane manoeuvres including his first ‘el rollo’. His pair made it to the final, coming in third place. All in all, the other schools on the day had too much depth to put any of our teams through to the State finals; with Yanchep High School winning the day with a dominant junior boogie boarding performance. However, we have a lot of talent for next year and we should be able to bring home a Metro Title. A massive thanks to Mr Rugg who organised everything and the Sport department for letting Surfing go ahead.