SPORT NEWS
YEAR 8 GIRLS SOCCER SMR FINALS
The Year 8 Girls Soccer team continued their blistering form at the Southern Metro Region finals this week.
Led by captains Alana Chisango (8I), Maia Niego (8O) & Robin Wang (8F) the team coasted through their pool games against Hampton Park, Berwick & Kambrya. In the final against Mentone Girls, the team exhibited a fine demonstration of teamwork with an array of girls capitalising on scoring opportunities.
A special thank you to our personal chauffeur and singer, Mr Bridges, and our Year 9 helpers, who cheered the team on and would have been excellent water boys if the state-of-the-art facility at Casey Fields had water taps.
The team will compete again in the State finals in early September, hoping to go one better than their 2nd place finish in 2023.
Caitlin Arneil
Coach
SENIOR GIRLS FOOTBALL - INTO THE STATE GRAND FINAL!
On Wednesday 14 August the Senior Girls footy team went to Elgar Park in Mont Albert to play the State semifinals and quarter final. This is the first time in McKinnon history that the Senior Girls football team has made it to the state grand final.
After winning both the Kingston division and the SMR finals the girls brought their all to the state quarter and semifinals. After a tough match winning the quarter finals by only a goal to Canterbury Girls College we stepped up and had a convincing win against Catholic College Sale 35 to 5 - a triumphant win to say the least.
Thanks to the girls' zero all mindset, treating every quarter as a fresh start, the other teams had nothing on us. We’re all super proud of not only the success they’ve achieved but the growth as a team and individuals. Thanks to our passionate coaches, Ms Owen and Ms Weiss, as well as Jordan and Bianca for helping out on the day.
We will be playing the State Grand Final on Thursday 29 August against Strathmore Secondary College at La Trobe University.
Bring on the state grand final!!
Jemma Owen
Coach
YEAR 7 BOYS FOOTBALL: STATE QUARTER FINAL
After completing a flawless football season in 2024 which included some hard-fought wins at the SMR competition, the Year 7 Boys Football team headed to Elgar Park in Mont Albert to take on the State’s elite junior football teams.
Whilst you have to beat the best to be the best, the Quarter Final draw was a touch unkind to us with us drawing the most successful football school/academy in recent history. Coached by former Essendon legend, Darren Bewick, Rowville Secondary College were always going to provide us with an enormous challenge.
With a generous breeze heading straight down the ground, Rowville kicked with the wind in the first quarter and looked the better side, skipping to an early three goal lead. Our boys under the guidance of Captain, Zavier Madden (7K) and raging bull midfielder, Luca Sirianni (7E) found their feet towards the end of the 1st quarter and came in at quarter time with some confidence.
The 2nd quarter started well, with running machine Archie Sideridis (7I) snagging an early goal and when Elliot Mulholland Pyle (7O) kicked a goal from the centre square we were back in the hunt.
Unfortunately for us, Rowville had some outstanding running players and combined with some enormous key position players, they managed to hold onto their three-goal lead at half time.
Kicking into the wind again in the third quarter, our boys rallied after half time and kicked the first goal through the relentless Sirianni, the result of a lift in intensity across the whole team.
The quality and depth of Rowville was able to withstand our efforts and they scored some late goals against the flow in the 3rd quarter and came into three quarter time with a comfortable 33-point lead.
We needed everything to go right in the last quarter but unfortunately, we ran out of time and Rowville managed to win by 6 goals.
Well done to the entire squad of Year 7 footballers, they represented the school with distinction and were very well supported by a loyal band of parents on the day.
Greg Hoskin & Chris Hudd
Coaches
INTERMEDIATE GIRLS NETBALL SMR FINALS
On Thursday 8 August, the Intermediate Girls Netball B team played off at the SMR finals. The team started off with a strong win over Cranbourne West Secondary College before facing off in a tough second game against Mentone Girls Secondary. After a close first quarter, we struggled to keep up and lost the game.
Our last game saw us facing Berwick College which turned into a close game with McKinnon managing to come out on top. Although we ended the day with two wins and one loss, we missed out on playing in the finals for the day.
The team played extremely well overall and had some incredible shooting and strong defence throughout each of the games. Well done to everyone on the team!
Courtney Hungerford
Coach
YEAR 8 GIRLS BADMINTON SMR FINALS
On Thursday 15 August, the following girls, Meenakshi Abhilash (8D), Nikhita Bharathy (8I), Avyana Girotra (8G), Devika Rajesh Gayathri (8R) and Sofia Vrancianu Danila (8R) represented McKinnon in the Southern Metropolitan Region Badminton Finals.
The McKinnon girls won a very close game against Narre Warren South by coming from behind to win by three points. They also defeated Cheltenham and Berwick in their pool games to reach the final against a very strong opposition, Kambrya, where they were defeated.
Congratulations to these girls for being Runners-up in the Southern Metropolitan Region.
Ray Braniska
Coach
YEAR 7 GIRLS & BOYS BADMINTON
The Southern Metro Region Badminton competition was a thrilling event, with our school teams delivering strong performances.
The girls team, made up of Tessa Chong (7G), Michelle Cui (7B), Eloise Lai (7B), Stephanie Qu (7P), Evie Tan (7G), and Nisarga Vinay (7I), played exceptionally well and earned a well-deserved third place. Their determination and teamwork were evident in every match, showing great spirit throughout the game.
The boys team also made an impressive showing, finishing second in the region. In a closely fought final, they were equal in sets but narrowly lost out on making the State Final team by 10 points.
The team, consisting of Ayush Mukherjee (7K), Veer Sidhu (7L), Devin Xie (7F), Marcus Yuen (7J), and Jerry Huynh (7D), demonstrated excellent coordination and skill throughout the tournament. Veer, in particular, stood out with his strong performances as our number 1 player.
Both teams have shown tremendous potential and represented our school with great pride. Congratulations to all the players for their dedication and hard work!
Michael Woolhouse
Coach