Sport

North West Regional Girls Rugby Championships

On Wednesday 28 August three teams from MCC travelled to the University of New England in Armidale for the North-West Regional 7’s Rugby Union Championships. The teams included the girls Under 13’s, 15’s and 17’s. After finishing the Friday night Rugby the previous week the teams were ready fit and ready to go. The under 13’s team started the competition strongly with a draw with Calrossy and wins over O’Connor Catholic College of Armidale and Warialda High School. They entered the finals undefeated which was a great effort with only one reserve. The girls showed plenty of speed, skill and determination throughout their games. Unfortunately, they were narrowly defeated in the finals.

In the Under 15’s division the girls worked hard and were very competitive in every single game. Some narrow losses did not reflect the improvement and progression of the team. The girls should be proud of their efforts throughout the entire season. 

 

The Under 17’s team started slowly falling behind against a strong New England Girls School. They improved considerably in the second game with a hard fought two tries to nil win against McIntyre High School of Inverell. A defeat against a well drilled Calrossy team was followed by a 17-11 win against O’Connor Catholic College of Armidale to finish the day on a high. The girls may have been a little sore and tired at the end of the day yet should be satisfied with their efforts. Thank you to Isabella for refereeing and a big thank you to Mr Shaun Nichols and Mr Jonathan Dean for coaching the teams both on the day and Friday night throughout the season.

 

 

Diocesan Athletics Carnival Success

On Friday 30 August thirty one students travelled up to O’Connor Catholic College for the Diocesan Athletics Carnival. All students put in an outstanding effort in every single event and conducted themselves in an exemplary manner. There were several highlights on where students broke their own personal best records. Several students qualified for the NSW CCC Athletics Championships which will be held in Sydney on Friday 20 September.  A big thank you to Mr Tim Kennedy from St Mary's Gunnedah for organising the carnival and for O’Connor Catholic College for hosting the event. Also thank you to Mr Rob Meppem and Mrs Briony Martin for running the discus and javelin events on the day. Good luck to all students who qualified for the NSW CCC Athletics Championships in Sydney. 

 

Under 14 Boys Rugby Success 

On Friday 30 August the Under 14 Boys Rugby Union team played their grand final against Quirindi High School at Magpies. The boys enjoyed a tremendous season under the guidance of Mr Bernie Williams and Mr Wade Leu. The majority of the team had played in last years grand final where they comprehensively defeated Farrer and they were keen to make it two in a row. Quirindi proved worthy opponents and certainly came to play. But to our boys credit they played a great game where they showed some outstanding attacking and defensive efforts. The boys got to an early lead and maintained their dominance throughout the match. The team's skills of rucking and well timed attacking waves saw us dominate possession and field position. As a result we scored some great tries both in the middle and out wide. All players played well especially Sebastian, James, Bradyn and Bailey who gave some great service out of acting half. Cameron has been an inspirational leader all season and again played a strong game. The teams were privileged to have local product Alex Newsome now playing for the NSW Waratahs on hand to watch the game and be involved in the presentation. A big thank you to all the parents, supporters, Mr Bernie Williams, Mr Michael Larkin and Mr Wade Leu for coaching and training the boys throughout the season. A great effort once again and we look forward to all students playing again next year.

 

Diocesean Basketball

On Wednesday 4 September four teams and 39 students participated in the Armidale Diocese basketball trials at the Sportsdome in Tamworth. The teams consisted of a Year 7 and 8 boys team, Year 7 and 8 girls team; Year 9 and 10 boys team and a Year 9 and 10 girls team. Most of the teams had been training and trialling for several weeks as well as playing in the Wednesday night competition in preparation for the day. The other participating schools of the Diocese included St Marys of Gunnedah, O’Connor Catholic College  Armidale and Holy Trinity Inverell. There was some great games throughout the day with the girls teams winning most games comfortably, though in the Year 9 and 10 division O’Connor Catholic College Armidale provided the girls with a good competitive hitout. The play was of a high standard with the shooting skills accurate, rebound and defensive formations tight. Crisp passing and positioning allowed the girls to find plenty of baskets and rotate their players where all students were given plenty of game time. 

 

The Year 7 and 8 boys, are a skilful and athletic team and they combined well to win their first two games comfortably. In the third game they came up against a physically bigger and more aggressive team from O’Connor. Whilst they started the game well and matched their opponents for much of the game a couple of stand out players and sustained pressure saw the boys go down 21-30. They regrouped to win their final game in a solid display. The Year 9 and 10 boys are a team of quality basketballers and whilst their game against O’Connor was a good contest they proved to be too strong for their opponents. Great all round play and effort from the boys enabled them to showcase their skills. 

 

A big thank you to all the parents, coaches, and supporters who volunteered to run the table, score and help out on the day. McCarthy is very fortunate to have the support of Matt and Paul Hobson who coached the boys teams and well as Troy Jefferies and Emma Higgins who coached the girls teams. Thank you to Carol Rickard, Tania Young, and Kellie Anne Hansen for all their work on the day. This year we had a great response from students helping out and refereeing games a big thank you to Tom, Jim, Cameron, Tom, Ethan, Noah, Rowan, Isla and Ellie.

 

To Mr Ryan Saban and Miss Natahlia Bryant a big thanks for assisting on the day and supporting our students. We now look forward to preparing for the NSW CCC Junior Basketball trials in Sydney played in late October. 

 

Bingara League Tag success

On Wednesday September 4 the under 14’s and 16’s girls league tag teams travelled to Bingara for the North-West Secondary Schools Finals. 

The under 14 girls were missing a few key players who were at Basketball yet came out firing with a comprehensive 10 nil victory against Narrabri High School. This impressive display was followed up with a 3-1 victory over Guyra High School. The girls showed excellent skills, teamwork and fitness which brought them into the final against Oxley High School. In a game of high quality the girls showed incredible endurance and determination in holding on for a well earned victory with just one reserve on the bench. The girls were excited to bring home the trophy as well as some footballs and NRL hats. A big thank you to Luke Taylor and the NRL for running such a great tournament. 

 

The Under 16 girls are a talented team who got off to a slow start and never really recovered going down to Inverell High School Guyra. Whilst there was some good footy played the girls enjoyed the day and played the game in the right spirit. A big thank you to Mr Bernie Williams for driving the bus and coaching the 14 girls as well as Mrs Tanya Laird who once again gave up her time in supporting the girls.

 

Northern NSW at the National Youth Championships- Bradyn Boonstra

Bradyn from Year 8 is one of 34 players who will represent  Northern NSW at the National Youth Championships in Coffs Harbour from 30 September to 4 October. Each state federation will be represented by it’s top players. Three Hyundia A-League Academy teams will compete at the championships; Newcastle Jets, Perth Glory and Brisbane Roar. The Championships will feature 36 teams around Australia. Bradyn is a member of the Northern Inland Academy of Sport (NIAS).

Bradyn has aspirations of making a career out of the sport and has been praised for his strong work ethic. Bradyn plays for Maitland FC in the Northern NSW Premier League. We wish Braydn all the best for the upcoming Championships.

 

Phoebe and Miah Prepare for Country Rugby Challenge

Phoebe McLoughlin and Miah O'Sullivan from Year 12 have been named in the Women’s Country squad for the upcoming Chikarovski Cup to be held over the October long weekend. Here they will play against two Sydney representative teams. 

It is shaping as a very busy time for the pair with both to feature in the AON University 7’s series which kicks off 14 September. Phoebe will line up for the Lions and Miah for Bond University.

We wish the girls the best of luck in these upcoming games.