Sport

This year, students were able to enjoy participating in complete Winter and Spring Seasons for the first time since 2019. The last term saw both individual and team success and, more importantly, a return to togetherness and community. Spectators were welcomed again, highlighted by the tremendous support at the Grand Final of our First XI Hockey team, and we enjoyed Presentation Evenings to celebrate seasons, hosted by our fantastic Friends of Groups.

Congratulations to our First IV Badminton team for winning the AGSV Premiership. Led by Captain Jordan Yang (Year 11), the young squad went through the season undefeated and beat Yarra Valley Grammar convincingly in the Grand Final. The team was well led by Head Coach, Nick Ong and Teacher in Charge, Mr Tap-Long Duong. A popular sport in the School, teams across most divisions experienced great success, which should assist in maintaining our dominance in the AGSV for future seasons.

The Cross Country squad completed their most successful season in many years, finishing in 2nd place at the season’s end. Highlights throughout the season included a Round 5 win, knocking off perennial champions Marcellin for the first time in a very long time, and four individual year-level medallists: Gold and Silver for Harvey Williams and James Alex (Year 8) respectively, as well as Gold to Joshua Carlin (Year 9) and Harrison Car (Year 10). With the influence of Craig Mottram and his team of talented coaches, Teacher in Charge Mr Mark Collins is confident the squad will be able to perform strongly again next season.

Our Hockey teams performed consistently, particularly the 7/8A team who went through the season without losing a match, while the First XI only lost one. Heartbreakingly, it was the Grand Final; however, the team was outstanding throughout the season. Firsts Coach, Mr Jamie Watson, and Head of Hockey, Stuart Webster, were instrumental in developing students on and off the field, which resulted in a number of students gaining AGSV Representation.

First XVIII Football Coach, Rayden Tallis, inspired his team to their highest ladder position in many years after winning two of their matches against Yarra Valley Grammar and Peninsula Grammar and remaining competitive across many others. Along with the First XVIII, the program and the students in it are developing positively, including an enthusiastic and skilled group of Year 9 and 10 students. The Inter B team enjoyed an undefeated season.

The season was predicted to be challenging for the First XI Soccer team. A team of varying experience and age, the team performed valiantly to record two wins and finish in 7th place. Gregory Kerdemelidis (Year 12) enjoyed a consistent and much improved season under the guidance of Head Coach Anthony Frost and Head of Soccer, Andreas Papanicolaou. Another sport with talent oozing in younger year levels, there is excitement for future seasons following the development of styles of play and individual growth. Special mention must go to the Inter A team and their coach Mr Nathan Jones for their impressive season.

At the completion of the AGSV Season, students who performed consistently and exceptionally were rewarded with selection in their respective AGSV Representative sport teams. This season, we had one of the largest numbers of students participating in the matches against the APS. We congratulate:

Badminton – Jordan Yang (Year 11), Chauncey Yu (Year 9) and Owen Lim (Year 8)

Basketball – Sam Veitch (Year 12 – Co-Captain)

Cross Country – Billy Swingler (Year 12), Jack Dobbyn, Marcus Liew and Henry Shirrefs (Year 11)

Football – Joshua Davidson and Caleb Finlayson (Year 12)

Hockey – Brodie Carswell (GK), Liam Corr, Ed Harper (Year 12), Harry Watson (Year 11) and Domenic Bozzone (Year 10)

Soccer – Ethan Ensor (Year 12)

Participating in the Melbourne Winter Baseball League, our four teams across Under 13, 15 and 17 enjoyed a fruitful season, albeit cold and wet, at times. Three teams made the finals, while the Under 17s, led by Taran Rose (Year 11) were victorious in winning their Grand Final. Our Fencing squad also enjoyed success in individual and team events. Sean Xu (Year 12) performed particularly well, winning the Fencing Victoria Schools’ League Senior Secondary title.

As mentioned previously, not since 2019 had the Spring Sports been held, meaning it was the first opportunity for students from Year 7 to 9 to experience Athletics and Water Polo at the School. After five weeks of intense training sessions and trials, the Athletics squad participated in the Centenary Event of the AGSV Finals. The special event was held on a Saturday at Lakeside Stadium. The team did incredibly well and won the AGSV Premiership for the first time since 1980. Having won the very first event in 1920, it was fitting that we won the 100th AGSV Athletics Carnival. Congratulations to Mr David Rayner (Teacher in Charge), Craig Mottram (Head Coach) and Captain Benny Grayson for their hard work. We are very proud of all students who were involved throughout the season. Our Water Polo teams also had encouraging seasons. We fielded two teams each at Junior (Year 7/8), Intermediate (Year 9/10) and Seniors (Year 11/12). The Firsts finished runners up to a formidable Melbourne High School team, while our Inter A team defeated Trinity in their Grand Final to claim the premiership.

Congratulations to all students on a fantastic year of Sport at Camberwell Grammar. Thank you to our Year 12 students who have now represented the school for the final time on the sporting field. We wish you every success in your studies and future sporting endeavours.

Attention now turns to a new year of AGSV Sport with the commencement of the Summer Season in Term 4. Preparations have already begun as we aim to defend titles in some sports and push for premierships in others. Training officially starts on Monday 3 October, while Round 1 of the AGSV Season is scheduled for Saturday 15 October.

Mr Lachlan Crawford

Head of Sport