Sports Reports NSWCIS Rugby League Trials Soccer Rugby

NSWCIS Open Rugby League Trials

Last Wednesday, four of our Rugby League players travelled to St Mary’s in the first step in obtaining an Australian Schoolboy jersey.

The NSWCIS is a competitive side which will compete against NSWCCC and NSWCHS in the upcoming school holidays. Jia Siakisoni, Tom Lemmich, Bill Statham and Cooper Brien had a great day and were spoken of highly at the selection table.

Tom, Bill, Jia and Cooper

With 24 players exempted to the final camp due to representative honours, Tom and Bill have earned a spot at this camp of 35 players, which will be cut down to 20 for the final team. Congratulations to all four boys for their efforts and we wish Bill and Tom luck when they attend the Narrabeen Camp in the coming weeks. Mr Paul McDonald, Coordinator

Soccer Report

Team: ISA soccer

Coach: Mr Greet Opponent: St Andrews Cathedaral 13A Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Loss 0-6 Home games for us are at the soccer megaplex that is Proctor Park. On a very unwelcoming day, SACS made the trip up to play us. We began well, but conceded an early goal from a cross. With reinforcements arriving, the boys’ play improved. The game was mainly played in our half but there were some very positive runs from Tennerson and Asher when we had the opportunity. The midfield worked hard to contain the opposition and we did not give them a lot of space to create chances. The defence was magnificent: Baxter in his first game was excellent, tracking his man and clearing the ball creatively, Tyler was very solid at left back and Ruben and Toby were again resistant. The rest of the half was an arm wrestle, but led to two more goals for the opposition. The second half was more of the same: stout defence, occasional attack and shooting, but beaten by a sweeper of size and pace and a quick marksman upfront. Justin had a fine game in goal and somehow managed to keep himself warm. This was a much more cohesive performance with skills and technique developing well. Next time we play them, I am confident the result will be closer.

Rugby Reports

Team: Stannies Rugby 1st XV

Coach: Mr Shane Thurston Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 1st XV Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 48 - 0 Best Back: Tom Lemmich Best Forward: Cooper Wright Matches against Kinross are always a challenging affair and today was no different. It was pleasing to see our attack perform well in patches and our defence to hold them scoreless. Jack Morrison opened the scoring in the first half. Sam Cantrill soon followed him after a break down at the edge by Emmett Miller. Dylan Challita and Cooper Wright also managed to cross for tries in the first half. Hayden Maher, Garang Diing and Tom Lemmich crossed for tries in the second half, with Cooper Wright scoring his second. Riley Langfield finished the day with four conversions. We were fortunate to have Stannies Old Boy, James Grant, present the playing jerseys to the boys before the game. James is a very proud Stannies Old Boy and spoke with passion about his time at the College and how much his Stannies 1st XV jumper means to him and what it means for the boys to have the privilege of wearing the 1st XV badge on their jerseys. Despite the scoreline, we were left with a few areas to work on and tidy up and will focus on these before our next game against St Aloysius’.

Team: Stannies Rugby 1st XV

Coach: Mr Shane Thurston Opponent: St Aloysius’ College 1st XV Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 17 - 0 Best Back: Harvey Thurston Best Forward: Dylan Challita The weather had a significant impact on this game, with very windy conditions and some rain playing havoc with both teams handling. As a result, it was a very stop-start affair, with numerous handling errors disrupting the game’s flow. To again keep the opposing side to nil is a positive for how our defensive systems are working and there were some excellent individual and team defensive efforts throughout the game. Dylan Challita, Hayden Maher, Tom Lemmich, Jim Newman and Bede Smeallie all had outstanding games in this regard. Denzil Begley crossed for our first try of the day, completing a nice attacking raid to score in the corner. Riley Langfield had the tough assignment of converting from the sideline amongst the St Aloysius’ supporters, which he did with a fantastic strike in the conditions. Dylan Challita also crossed for a try in the first half to send us into the break 12-0 up. Unfortunately, the second half saw the conditions deteriorate further and with it, our ball control. Handling errors by both teams were an all too frequent occurrence and prevented either team from building pressure. An injury to Harrison Corke gave Caden Taylor the chance to make his 1st XV debut and he did a great job with some strong carrier and his work in defence. Hayden Maher closed out the scoring, scooting over from the back of the scrum close to the Aloy’s line.

Team: Stannies Rugby 2nd XV

Coach: Mr Simon Anderson Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 2nds Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 14-5 Best Back: Tyler Sharwood Best Forward: Jack Dawson The game was closely contested and the 2nd XV team showed great discipline to remain focused to ensure victory. Stirling Carter scored the first try early in the half, which set the team up well. Will Poole managed to convert the try. After this start, the team allowed Kinross back into the game with an offside penalty awarded to Kinross. This seemed to disrupt the rhythm of the Stannies team as Kinross managed to get into a good attacking position. They managed to score in the right corner near the end of the half after stretching our defence. In the second half, Stannies managed to maintain improved attacking possession. A penalty was awarded and it allowed Dawson to take a quick tap which led to a try and a resulting conversion. This meant that the team had secured a nine-point difference which was maintained until the end of play. The team managed to recycle possession and continue attacking until the end of the game. Kinross defence continued to prevent any further tries from being scored.

Team: Stannies Rugby 2nd XV

Coach: Mr Simon Anderson Opponent: St Aloysius College 2nds Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 37-17 Best Back: Paddy Lowe Best Forward: Alex Fish This week’s game was a defining game of the season for the Stannies 2nd XV team. A few injury setbacks allowed several new combinations to emerge and players from the 3rd XV team stepped up with their individual performances. Jacob Cullen and Jesse Whitfeld combined well at numbers nine and 10 and ensured the smooth distribution of the ball to the forward pods and the outside backs. The interplay between the backs and forwards was impressive and resulted in some expansive rugby and tries on the outside. These tries were set up by various forwards, such as Alex Fish and Harrison Noonan, doing some of the dirty work up front and supporting their teammates. Paddy Lowe made a few impressive tries as a result of beating his opponents on the outside. The defence was good overall, seeing some big tackles in the midfield putting pressure on the opposition. At one point, this pressure allowed Jesse Whitfeld to intercept and score from within his half. The forwards were mobile during the game and managed to secure good possession in the lineouts while the rucks were dominated as Stannies managed to secure a large proportion of ball possession. A second-half try when Harrison Nowlan crashed over the try line cemented the team’s victory and overall dominant performance. This improved performance by the team will result in increased competition for player positions and will contribute positively to the team culture at a crucial stage of the season.

Team: Stannies Rugby 3rd XV

Coach: Mr Paul McDonald Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 3XV Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 48 - 0 Best Forward: Oliver Worland Best Back: Jesse Whitfeld Players Player: Ethan Comerford Try Scorers: André Rossitt, Jack Lynch, James Champion, Jesse Whitfeld, Oliver Worland, Ethan Comerford, Jacob Cullen Goals: Cooper Brien (4) There was a massive improvement this week where the forwards were able to show their abilities against the Kinross pack. The aggression and work at the breakdown dominated the opposition giving our team the majority of possession for the game. This allowed our backline to move the ball smartly, with six of the eight tries scored in the backline. It was great to see our kicking game putting the opposition under pressure with field position, which is a tactic we will hopefully continue to employ. With two trial games left to go, we are still experimenting with players and positions in preparation for our first ISA match.

Team: Stannies Rugby 3rd XV

Coach: Mr Paul McDonald Opponent: St Aloysius College Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 27 - 0 Best Forward: Kyle Allen Best Back: Jake Toubia Players Player: Ephraim Toleafoa Try Scorers: Kyle Allen, Tom Lynch, Jake Toubia, Bill Statham, Cooper Earsman Goals: Cooper Earsman (1) With many changes needed to be made this week, the team wasn’t finalised until Friday afternoon. The boys’ resilience in this situation was remarkable and allowed us to see more players competing for a thirds jersey. The day was very windy and it took a while for our passing game to settle. Once the errors were limited, we had regular field position and then dominance over the opposition. Our kick-chase continues to improve and the forwards once again laid a platform for our opportunities. Congrats to all for their efforts this week, especially those with the later call-up.

Team: Stannies Rugby 16A

Coach: Mr Mark Elliott Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 16A’s Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 25-0 Best Backs: Hunter Carter and Sam Wilson Best Forwards: Lochie Jacobs and Henry Miller With a late detour due to COVID restrictions, the 16As found themselves with a 9am kick-off in dewy, slippery conditions on the Kinross Main Oval. The match was littered with dropped balls, but the Stannies men always seemed to control the game. With plenty of opportunities in the first half, Charlie Ferguson was the first try-scorer after some strong teamwork play down the left side of the field. Henry Miller burst through the Kinross line from the kick-off and a couple of phases later, Dylan Thurston crashed over out-wide. Kinross was able to capitalise on some Stannies errors late in the half, but the defence stood strong as it has all season. The 16As again worked their way downfield, finding space out wide before a perfectly measured Angus Smith chip was dived on by Sam Clark right on halftime. The second half followed a similar pattern, with both sides unable to create continuity in their play. Penalties and turning over possession meant that the game was essentially played between both 22’s. The 16As were getting frustrated as wave after wave of attack was stifled by an errant pass or handling error. The Smith-Clark combination worked effectively once more to give the Stannies men some breathing space before Manny Achmar forced his way over the line in the dying moments to secure the victory.

Team: Stannies Rugby 16A

Coach: Mr Mark Elliott Opponent: St Aloysius College 16As Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 36-5 Best Backs: Hunter Carter and Nelson Dusan Best Forwards: Charlie Ferguson and Cohan Lorusso The 16As returned to Sydney looking to record their third straight victory as well as to build momentum and confidence for the quickly approaching ISA season. Stannies controlled the early exchanges through some dominant running via the forwards, which created opportunities out wide. Skipper Dylan Thurston was the first to cross when he finished off an excellent backline movement. A couple of breaks through the middle created some quality field position. Stannies had a couple of close calls with tries disallowed before Lochie Jacobs crossed the stripe. St Aloysius was able to apply some pressure, but the Stannies defensive line remained solid. Connor Wilkin crashed over right on halftime to give Stannies a 17-0 lead. The goals for the second half were to improve our continuity and maintain our discipline in attack. With the game well in hand, Stannies could chance their hand a little more in attack. This created more opportunities but also led to a few handling errors. A welldeserved try to Henry Miller started the second half scoring before a brilliant individual effort by Cohan Lorusso put the result beyond doubt. Hunter Carter’s cross-field kick was perfectly placed for Angus Smith to pounce and seal a resounding Stannies victory.

Team: Stannies Rugby 16B

Coach: Mr Joe Pucci Opposition: Kinross Wolaroi School 16Bs Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win Best Forward: Jack Farrow Best Back: Angus Lang “COVID strikes Sydney again!” is an all too familiar heading for the SSC Rugby program with the game against The Scots College called off and a new opponent in Kinross taking their place. The mighty 16Bs were light on numbers again but stood up against their opposition and took the win in a gusty battle. Callum Goodwin made his 2021 comeback and slotted straight into the SSC defensive line. Callum went straight into the forwards’ engine room and took up where he left off in 2019. Jack Farrow was dominant all game and produced the best on ground performance for the forwards. Jack was technical in the breakdown and

his pick and drive were outstanding. Liam Cain, Jarvis Ullrich and Jack Nunan were strong in the front row and the Kinross front three were no doubt feeling a little sore come Sunday morning. Jono Bartlett and Josh Whitley are proving a solid combination in the second row and their line out work led to some great attacking plays. Josh Dargin-Carr and Brody Paterson busted tackles through the middle and their quick footwork put the opposition back. These two young men laid the platform for fly-half, Tom Gray, to orchestrate the backline plays that put points on the board. Mitchell Sullivan continues to be the leader on the field, his positional switch to the centres and his calming presence in the heat of the battle was the icing on the cake. Trevor Martin proved again that speed is the great equaliser in attack and defence. New to the game, Trevor is growing in confidence each week and reading opposition attack plays. Jack Heffernan, who returned from his Royal Bathurst Show duties, found himself in the forwards. Jack did not look out of place and his clinical tackling technique chopped down some of the big Kinross forwards. Angus Lang was dominant in and around the ruck and his “fancy footwork” left the Kinross opposition spinning. Getting the creative licence from the coach, Angus switched the play when needed, which led to the mighty 16Bs dominating the second half. The second headline for the week was “The Flash Was Back!”. Tom Collins packed the jet shoes again and scored one of the best tries of the season off a kick. Tom eluded the entire Kinross backline and scored in the corner. As soon as the try was scored, his phone was ringing, with Michael McGuire on the other end enquiring about his availability for the Wests Tigers next weekend - sorry Madge, COVID restrictions! Ryan Burke made his long-awaited comeback to rugby. After nearly a two-year layoff, Ryan was back in the blue and white hoops, he was tackling everything and in attack, the famous right footstep made an appearance. Ryan was well supported by Iggy Adamson, who was dynamite in attack and his defensive play saw many a Kinross player slow to their feet. Iggy is a nofuss player, he is not a fan of the warm-up but is a massive fan of crossing the white line. Well done to the Mighty 16Bs undefeated so far in 2021!

Team: Stannies Rugby 16B

Coach: Mr Joe Pucci Opposition: St Aloysius College 16Bs Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win Best Forward: Ryan Burke Best Back: Tom Collins The Mighty 16Bs boarded the bus at 6am for their clash with St Aloysius in the leafy suburb of Willoughby. After a slow start with some personnel changes, the 16Bs clicked into gear. Jack Nunan was solid in the front row and his no-fuss approach had the Stannies boys in attack early. Jarvis Ullrich continues to improve each game and his bustling runs through the middle had the Aloysius forwards on the back foot. Liam Cain, Isaac Barrett and Will Grant were a great combination in the forwards with their great spatial awareness and line running assisting with early points. Jono Bartlett sprinted away in the second half with a 50 metre try showing a clean pair of heels in preparation for the Stannies Athletics Carnival. Ryan Burke was voted best forward in his second game back in the blue and white hoops. Ryan led the defensive line with quick line speed and the infamous “2019 Step” was back with Ryan laying on a try for Will Grant under the posts. Josh Dargin-Carr was pivotal off the bench with his outstanding technique and positional play that stopped any run forward from the Aloysius forwards. Tom Gray provided a clean ball to Ethan Dawson and Arthur Locke and the trio were responsible for the score ticking over continually at the back end of the game. Tom, Ethan and Arthur managed to find gaps where there was none. Angus Lang was quick to the breakdown and his clean and accurate passing skills found Mitchell Sullivan in clean space on several occasions. Mitchell was great in conducting the backline orchestra to the tune of more points. His teammates appreciate his ability to read the play. Trevor Martin, Callum Goodwin and Brody Paterson swapped jumpers in the first half to provide numbers for St Aloysius, which the opposition coach appreciated. On their return in the second half to the “Blue and White Hoops,” Trevor launched himself into the attack and Brody was a busy young man in and around the middle of the field. Callum Goodwin came up with another colossal tackle in defence to the roar of the crowd. Will Patterson returned after an absence last week and was clinical in his role at fullback. Will provided direction for the team in attack and defence and when the opposition put several kicks down into the Stannies half, Will ran it back with great gusto! Tom Collins got the points for best back and enjoyed the open spaces of the Aloysius Number 1 Oval. It was great to see the swan dive come out with a perfect 10/10 landing. Jack Heffernan tackled everything that came his way, even with an injured hand, Jack managed to tackle anything that came his way. With the injuries mounting at the Roosters, Jack might get the call from Robbo mid-week. No doubt Jack will put his SSC commitments before his beloved Roosters. It was a great game of commitment this week by the 16Bs and the Tuesday fitness sessions seem to be the difference, with the SSC boys showing plenty of enthusiasm right through to the final whistle. Well done to the Mighty 16Bs, undefeated so far in 2021!

Team: Stannies Rugby 15A

Coach: Mr Darren Culnane Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 15A Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win: 24 - 5 Best Backs: Aiden Thurston, Carter Langfield, Jack O’Hara Best Forwards: Tom Lynch, Jacob Hill, Jonah Tulevu Scorers: Jonah Tulevu, Jacob Hill, Aiden Thurston, Carter Langfield Congratulations to our playing squad on a positive all-around performance in Orange on Saturday. Carter Langfield and Jonah Tulevu set the standard for our game with excellent work in both attack and defence during the first 10 minutes of play. Jonah scored our first try with a decisive run from 20 metres out. Tom Lynch, Jacob Hill, Tom Condon and Jedd Dowling showcased their skill and strength in defence. Rory Sullivan returned from injury this week and continued with outstanding form in attack and defence. Well done again to our halves combination of Kohta Mara and Riley Whitfeld. The passing and running game for both players gets better and better each week. The entire backline combined well together in attack and defence. Carter Langfield, Jack O’Hara, Seth Norris, Harry Mulligan and James Johnston showed control in attack and allowed our outside players the chance to dominate the game. Our Man of the Match this week goes to Aiden Thurston. Aiden had an inspiring game at fullback, giving us the spark we needed in attack. Aiden’s two tries during the match highlighted his outstanding speed and power with the ball. Great work to the Under 15s squad. Congratulations to our boys who represented Central West in Armidale over the weekend. The team had a successful carnival making the final against Illawarra. Hamish Scott capped off a great week with selection in the Country Squad. The squad will play during the school holidays later in the year. Well done, Hamish. We can all look forward to our next game against St. Aloysius College.

Team: Stannies Rugby 15A

Coach: Mr Darren Culnane Opponent: St Aloysius 15As Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 12 - 10 Best Backs: Carter Langfield, Angus Tremain Best Forwards: Rory Sullivan, Tom Martin, Jacob Hill, Jonah Tulevu Scorers: Jonah Tulevu, Jacob Hill, Carter Langfield This week’s game was a last minute thriller, played at picturesque Primrose Park in Cremorne. Well done to Brad, our bus driver who battled the tight streets and on-coming traffic to get us there on time. Our game was played in two challenging halves, where strong running and excellent defence saw SAC leading at the break by 10 points to nil. A real positive sign for our squad this week was how every player backed up and provided support to their teammates. Our second half started well, with Jonah Tulevu scoring a ‘barnstorming’ try in the eighth minute. Some excellent one on one defence from Rory Sullivan and Tom Martin gave us the energy and go forward we needed. Carter Langfield’s kicking game was outstanding once again and gave our backs and forwards the attacking chances we needed in their 20-metre zone. Jacob Hill was unstoppable near the line and scored a great try in the 15th minute

of the second half. Carter converted the try to give us a slender and significant two-point lead. The last 10 minutes of the game was a real highlight, with some of the best defensive rugby I can recall at a junior level. We did not have one player take a backward step and the crowd were amazed by their efforts to hold out a strong finishing SAC’s forward pack. Congratulations to everyone involved in the match. Rory, Carter, Jonah, Tom, Jacob and Angus displayed excellence in a great team-based performance. Thanks to our parents and friends who supported the team so well. We look forward to another strong game against Riverview this weekend.

Team: Stannies Rugby 15B

Coach: Mr Tom Siejka Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 15B Date: Saturday 8 May Result: Win 30-17 Best Back: Liam Deegan Best Forward: Rory Sullivan The 15Bs played an excellent game on Saturday against a tough Kinross team. With 15 Stannies players in the U15 age group unavailable to play due to representative rugby and injuries, the remaining boys persevered with an outstanding performance from all players to stay undefeated this season. Liam Deegan set the tone for the game, scoring in the first minute of the game after Kinross dropped the ball off the kick-off. Wil Blatch scored not long after to extend our lead to 10 points. Kinross soon hit back with three tries and a conversion to take the lead. However, a strong run close to the line by Rory Sullivan kept us in the contest at halftime, trailing 17-15. In the second half, the boys spoke about defence, unhappy with our tackling in the middle third of the field. This showed in their performance, not conceding any points along with strong tackling in the middle by Cooper Tiffen, Jett Robinson and Archer Fish. Rory Sullivan kept on scoring with a hat trick and Jonah Tulevu on the score sheet. Overall, our boys’ gutsy performance shows they can keep winning games under any circumstance.

Team: Stannies Rugby 15B

Coach: Mr Tom Siejka Opponent: St Aloysius College 15B Date: Saturday 15 May Result: Win 33-27 Best Back: Angus Tremain Best Forward: Jett Robinson The SSC 15Bs came up against an outstanding St Aloysius team on Saturday, achieving a hard-fought win 33-27. The game was a very back and forth affair, with the teams going try for try in a great game of attacking footy. After being down 12-17, the boys showed character and resilience to win the game. Tries to Lennon Whitley, Hamish Scott, Valin Kennedy and a double to Captain Jett Robinson helped secure the win. Along with four conversions to Angus Tremain. The boys are still undefeated in four games of footy this season, gaining confidence every game as they look towards the ISA Competition.

Team: Stannies Rugby 14A

Coach: Mr Ben O’Mally Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 17-10 Best Back: Daniel Vaotangi Best Forward: Riley Williams After an imposing display of rugby the previous weekend against Sydney Grammar, the importance of levelling our heads and remaining focused on the basic skills with intensity was the preparation priority. A light warm-up yet again before kickoff allowed the young men to communicate their roles to each other and to support two replacements David Noonan and Harry Taylor. A crucial mistake at kickoff led to a Kinross try in the second minute of the game. Drastically, in the third minute, Kinross ran in another try due to a simple mistake at the back of the ruck, which led to Kinross’ possession and eventually stretching our left flank to score in the right corner. 0-10 KWS. Under the pump!!! With some good words from Captain Hugo O’Mally and some settling from the sideline, the team got themselves organised and portrayed the continuity they finished off with last week. The build-up of pressure, forcing the turnover when necessary, provided some field position for Stannies. Riley Williams took advantage of a break from half Gilby Glawson to cross over in the 15th minute. 5-10 half time. Running downhill, a slight breeze at our backs provided every indication that we needed to play the ball deep in their half. Losing Vice Captain James McIntosh through injury placed further pressure on the team, yet the squad showed resilience, grit, determination and a willingness to follow the game plan: to keep it tight, hit the narrow channels, maintain possession and the opposition will crack. In the second minute of the second half, Riley Williams found himself yet again over the white line through powerful runs and persistent efforts around the ruck. Following this play, flankers forced turnovers, second rowers won the ball while hooker Will Ringland, yet again doing the tough and dirty work as part of the tight five. Hugo O’Mally at No 8 was dominant in his attack and defence and provided the steadiness a ship needed. Daniel Vaotangi proved to be a handful to the opposition every time he touched the ball, as was fullback Zac Shannon. They were well supported by centres Culnane and Johns, whilst the wingers, Kemp and McGregor, stuck to their guns out wide in defence. The team’s effort set up the opportunity five metres out from the opposition try line due to flanker Gibson forcing the penalty. Rather than the three points, we went for the kill and Williams crossed for his hat trick. Culnane converted his third attempt for the final result of a 17-10 win. A precious learning experience for our young men. With such a blow to the scoreline in the first few minutes, “no need to panic, gents, let’s get to what we do best.”

Team: Stannies Rugby 14A

Coach: Mr Ben O’Mally Opponent: St Aloysius College Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Loss 14-19 Best Back: Zac Shannon Best Forward: Baxter Cook With another trip to Sydney, the boys boarded the bus for an 8am departure. Arriving at Willoughby Park relatively early, we got the opportunity to watch the 13A and Bs do battle against our opposition St Aloysius College. With a 2pm start, we lost the toss resulting in us receiving the ball at kickoff. Early yet again, a poor handling error allowed the opposition to capitalise on their field position to score on our right edge. Some persistent ball possession and forced penalties created the opportunity for Baxter Cook to utilise his hard running and ball carrying skills and for Captain Hugo O’Mally to crash over near the sticks. Culnane converted, 7-5 up. Aloysius soon hit back and crossed our line. Noncommitment of contact in defence being the main problem. 7-12. We returned serve again for Sam Patterson to crash his way over through solid running and determination. Culnane converted, 14-12. Half-time feedback revolved around making one-on-one tackles, working harder on the ball, being smarter with the football and looking for field possession to apply pressure. We could not follow the instructions too well in the second half: missed tackles, lazy retention and little consideration of building pressure. The opposition ran in a second-half try to seal the game 14-19. We will learn from the experience to put our best foot forward next week against St Ignatius College Riverview.

Team: Stannies Rugby 13A

Coach: Mr Jack English Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 13As Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 27-0 Best Back: Darcy Woodham Best Forward: Jackson Rodwell On Saturday, the 13As had an unexpected early trial match against Kinross 13As. The team was excited at the opportunity to play the two blues and put into practice our improved structure and team play. The warm-up went well with the boys in form well before the match and also switched on for a physical encounter. Once this excitement was reigned in and we settled into our warm-up, it was clear that the boys

were there to play. In what was another physical encounter, the boys stuck to structure and dominated possession and field possession for the entirety of the first half. This effort saw tries scored by Jackson Rodwell, Cooper Stephen and Darcy Woodham. Cooper also kicked an excellent conversion to take the halftime score to 17-0. The second half was much tighter and Kinross made several sustained attacks and our defence held firm. Further tries to Noah Vaotangi and Arthur Morrison saw us stretch to a 27-0 lead. It was at this point in the game the boys could have relaxed and allowed some late points to be scored, but in true Stannies style, we did nothing of the sort and defended a concerted attack upon our line for what must have been close to 10 minutes which for me as the coach was the highlight of the match. That sort of drive and determination goes a long way on a rugby field and I am proud of every one of those boys for stepping up and keeping the opposition to nil on the scoreboard. Well done to the 13As.

Team: Stannies Rugby 13A

Coach: Mr Jack English Opponent: St Aloysius College 13As Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 19-0 Best Back: Kai Barclay Best Forward: Sam Lane On Saturday, the 13As made the trip to Sydney to take on St Aloysius College in Willoughby. The match started and it was soon evident it was sure to be an evenly balanced affair. The Stannies boys, who had not let in a point for the past two matches, showed true grit and determination in weathering some sustained attacks from the well-drilled Aloysius outfit. The other team was well drilled at the breakdown in particular and effectively spoiled some of our ball. We have been working on supporting our ball runner and this became our saving grace. The boys were that bit bigger than the opposition and shut down their effective and strong running outside backs. Sam Lane, keen to impress following his call up into the As, was dominant with many a big run in the first half; two of these resulted in tries, much to our teams’ relief. Both of these were converted by Kai Barclay. The five minutes before halftime were a potentially dangerous time as we were fatigued and the opposition were on the ropes. To the Stannies boys credit, they dug in and weathered the storm and led 14-0 at halftime. In the second half, we were running uphill and into the wind. The forwards were tasked with getting the rollon happening and Jack Mulligan, in conjunction with Oliver Anderson and Sam Lane, achieved this with multiple strong runs crossing the advantage line. It was great to see the forwards start to run off Drew Langfield at halfback to create space and get out of traffic. We scored a late try out wide to Sam Lane again to give him the hat trick! Well done to all players; we have not let in a try or even a point since Week 1 of Term, something the boys can be very proud of.

Team: Stannies Rugby 13B

Coach: Miss Isabella Jacobson Opponent: Kinross Wolaroi School 13B Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Win 39-29 Best Back: Flynn Waddell Best Forward: Sam Lane Even though most of the 13s are new to Stannies this year, the enthusiasm elicited by the idea of playing our long-time rugby rivals, Kinross, was palpable. The boys felt anxious as we stepped on the sodden field and faced the other team, who had enough players to replenish after halftime completely, but that didn’t dwindle our boys’ spirits. Tackling and contact have been the focus of our training sessions lately and it was great to see an immense improvement in this area. Unfortunately, we were penalised quite a few times for not releasing the ball, which will ultimately become the focus of our training sessions this week. Despite their best efforts, Kinross’ defence was no match for Sam Lane, who showed immense ferocity as he powered down the field, palming off the opposition like he was swatting down flies. Additionally, Flynn Waddell’s impressive footwork and athleticism allowed us to gain a significant amount of ground and score try after try. A special mention to Spencer Cain, Darcy Fish, Angus O’Shannessy and our Captain for the day, James Billington, who all showed admirable sportsmanship and compassion as they took to the bench to allow other players to have a taste of the game. Although students were disappointed that we didn’t get to do a ‘Maccas Run’ as we usually would with a Sydney trip, it was a fantastic day to carry on the friendly tradition of ‘conquering Kinross’.

Team: Stannies Rugby 13B

Coach: Miss Isabella Jacobson and Mr David Burke Opponent: St Aloysius College 13B Date: Saturday 15 May 2021 Result: Win 10-5 Best Back: Darcy Fish Best Forward: Levi Howarth After the win we had against Kinross Wolaroi School last week, confidence was oozing from the 13Bs boys. A few of the Central West team members were absent from the 13As, so we graciously lent a few players to Mr English and combined with Mr Burke’s team to create a mighty force. We have been working very hard at training, progressing on our ball skills and learning new tactics. The defence was tight from both sides, creating a nail-biter, but putting our tactics into play proved to have a favourable outcome against Alo’s. Wilson Chenhall scored the first try within the first seven minutes of the game and after some backand-forth between us and the opposition, our second try was made by Levi Howarth. This, along with his flawless defence, afforded him the Player’s Player of the match. A special mention goes to our Captain, Spencer Cain, for leading the team and to James Billington, for getting out of his comfort zone and becoming a forward for the day. Thank you to the parents for your unwavering support and a big thank you to Jack Dawson and Daia Elgondi for their help with some last-minute tactics, which improved our performance.

Team: Stannies Rugby 13C

Coach: Mr David Burke Opponent: Scots All Saints College 13s Date: Saturday 8 May 2021 Result: Loss 21 - 41 Best Back: Riley Scott Best Forward: Cody Meyers The mighty 13C Stannies men got their first taste of independent rugby with a hastily organised fixture with Scots All Saints College. Thanks to Mr Mark Wilkinson the Head of Sport at SASC and Mr Rich Freeman the MIC of Rugby for their assistance to get the game off the ground and hosting it at the All Saints College Campus. The young men had a fabulous time, playing in waves of superb play rolling into some moments of play where we looked like we had never seen a ball before. When we had a try scored against us there was usually another one or two tries quickly following, however, when we got back into the game we more than competed with our opposition, so much so, the half time score was 17-14 to SASC. The scoreboard is only one measure of our performance and the young men deserve high praise for working hard on the little skill areas that we wanted to be better at by the end of the game. Their rugby journey has just begun at Stannies and I like what I saw, good men having good fun with their peers. A couple of standout performances from the game included, Eddie’s 25 metre sprint to the try line as the defence line opened up like the Red Sea did for Moses. Riley’s goal kicking, try scoring and overall enthusiasm was infectious, Logan and Cody upfront in the engine room were superb and Aemon, whose GPS tracker would have clicked over 25 km of running, now we just need him going straight forward and being the truly damaging forward he can be. Awesome effort one and all, well done.