Sports Update
Cricket Academy Update
CitiPower Centre / Junction Oval Excursion
One of the highlights to date was our first field trip excursion into City Power Centre at Junction Oval to observe a high-performance elite training facility, as well as the Men’s Sheffield Shield match between Victoria and South Australia. Unfortunately, a rain delay halted play during the first session, however the match resumed shortly before lunch on Day 3 with the Victorian middle order in pursuit of a first innings lead. During the break, students heard from a series of guest speakers, including Cricket Victoria CEO, Nicholas Cummins, former Australian Test representative and Head of Melbourne Cricket Education Academy, Michael Beer, who shared insights into cricket education pathways, as well as current Victorian opening batsman, Ash Chandrasinghe, who spoke about mindset, preparation and resilience for aspiring professional athletes.
Match Report
More recently, our Senior Cricket Academy took on St Francis Catholic College in a competitive hit out held onsite at Lara Secondary College. The match took place on Monday 23rd March during Session 2-3, which allowed for a T20 style format. Winning the toss, Captain Abigail M, elected to bat first on a perfect day for cricket. Here, our openers, Zayne W-B (15) and Tommy O, made a steady start, highlighted by some straight hitting from Zayne, before the first wicket fell at 1/27. Unfortunately, the middle-order failed to fire as wickets continued to tumble in quick succession. However, Riley S and Matt O wrestled back some momentum with a 25-run partnership, lifting the score from 5/55 to 5/80, which included three consecutive boundaries for Riley before Matt (11) was caught at point. Riley (32) continued to play shots, building toward a competitive total of 9/119 from our allotted 20 overs.
Out-swing specialist, Abigail, opened the bowling with Issac D offering some pace and bounce at the other end, however the first few overs didn’t go to plan. Unfortunately, several dropped catches proved costly as the game slipped away early with St Francis racing towards the target at 0/112! Once again, Riley S showed some fight, picking up three late innings wickets. Likewise, Riley B managed to hold three catches, including a spectacular one-handed effort on the boundary, which was celebrated in style with cheering and support from the crowd of fellow students eagerly watching on. St Francis concluded their innings at 6/152, with Abigail (2) and Noah N (1) the other wicket-takers. We look forward to a re-match in the near future.
Next Term
Looking ahead, we’re in the process of finalising our Winter Indoor Program for Term 2-3, which is likely to include visits to Nimble Hits Sports Stadium, Geelong Indoor Sports and Barwon Regional Cricket Centre. Likewise, we’re also working through logistics for an Inter-Academy Indoor Cricket Tournament involving representatives from both our junior and senior group to play off against St Francis Catholic College and Mickleham Secondary College at Hoppers Indoor Sportz. Further details will be made available via Compass shortly.
Brent Hodges & Ty Norman
Cricket Academy
Boys Rugby Update
The Lara Secondary College Rugby Academy continued its strong run of form with an outstanding set of results against Melton and Narre Warren, with both our Under 16 and Under 18 squads at home last week.
Across the two match-ups, the academy recorded an impressive four wins from four games, highlighting the depth of talent and the consistency being built across all age levels.
The Under 16s set the tone early with disciplined defence and exciting attacking play, Their ability to control possession and execute under pressure proved too strong for both Melton and Narre Warren.
The Under 18s followed suit with two commanding performances of their own. Combining physicality with smart decision-making, they were able to dominate key moments in both fixtures. Their leadership on the field continues to set a great example for the younger players within the program.
A major highlight of the day was the academy’s success in retaining the Mana Shield, a symbol of pride, respect, and excellence within our rugby program. Keeping the shield reflects not only the results on the scoreboard, but also the character, commitment, and unity shown by all players.
We look forward to building on this momentum as the season progresses.
Go Lara!
Ephraim Taukafa & Aaron Hassett
Rugby Academy
Girls Rugby Update
This term the girls rugby academy took part in the Academy Movement girls development day at Footscray RUFC. The day was led by coaches from 5 schools within our rugby academy network and students mixed with other schools to develop their skills and confidence.
The atmosphere and opportunity to learn was high with special guest coaches Mel Sawa ( ex Melbourne rebels captain) and Alana Thomas ( ex wallaroo and international high performance coach Fiji). The day finished with full contact games in under 15 and u18. The Lara girls dominated in this with a special mention to Havana Puke who played an amazing game.
Keep it up girls! Go Lara- photos to follow soon!
Emma Brown
Rugby Academy Coach
Rugby Academy Youtube Channel
To watch the lastest from the Rugby Academy head over to our YouTube channel using the following link.