Sports Update

Cricket Academy Update

Match Report

A comprehensive victory in Round 1 of the inaugural Academy Movement T20 Series against St Francis Catholic College was a great way to commence the Competition Phase. After months of preparation, our Cricket Academy Representative Squad comprising mostly Year 9/10 students, plus a trio of talented junior development players, were itching to put theory into practice and test their skills under live competition.

Winning to toss, Captain Avaniish K. elected to bat first on the immaculate all-weather synthetic surface out at Cobblebank. Anshdeep S. (12) immediately set the tone, crashing the first ball of the match out toward the backward point boundary. Fellow opening partner, Harjap A. (25), worked hard to stifle some hostile short-pitched bowling, before gradually increasing the run rate with a series of boundaries, including a classy flick off the pads, which sailed over square-leg for SIX! Indeed, a steady 30+run first-wicket partnership provided a solid launching pad for our middle order shot-makers. Leading the way, Avaniish (59) plundered the bowling to all parts of the ground (and beyond) with ten boundaries, including four powerful SIXES! Supported by a more conservative Jaskirat S. (18), who regularly turned the strike over with some quick singles, the run rate continued heading north before an unfortunate run-out at the non-striker’s end concluded an entertaining partnership. With a reputation for power-hitting, our No. 5 and No. 6 batters, Riley S. (26no) and Oscar C. (5no) continued the assault, with Riley blasting the final ball of the innings well over mid-wicket and into the construction site, bringing the total to 4/161 after the allotted 20 overs.

Opening the bowling, our youngest development player Harvey B. cast aside some early nerves and quickly settled in on a steady line and length. Despite some aggressive stroke play, Harvey peppered away at the top of off-stump, finishing with a tidy 1/14 from four overs. From here, the St Francis top order increased the scoring rate with a flurry of boundaries. At 1-75 after ten overs, the game was evenly poised at the halfway mark. Undoubtedly, the turning point came just two balls later when Tommy O. snaffled a well-judged catch on the square-leg boundary! The subtle variations of our four-pronged spin attack quickly put the brakes on as scoring became more difficult late in the innings. When Jeb W. chimed-in with a wicket in the penultimate over, the result was beyond doubt.

Match Summary / Highlights

Lara SC: 4/161

Avaniish K. 59, Riley S. 26no, Harjap S. 25

St Francis CC: 5/123

Harvey B. 1/14 (4), Anshdeep 1/5 (2), Harjap S. 1/11 (2), Jed W. 1/3 (1)

Congratulations to all students selected for this experience. Indeed, there were some exceptional examples of teamwork, commitment and respect on display and the match was played in high spirits.

Academy Movement T20 Series - Round 2

Date: Thursday 8/10 (Session 2-4)

Opponent: Mickleham Secondary College

Location: Lara Secondary College

Brent Hodges & Ty Norman

Cricket Academy

Rugby Academy Update

It has been another exciting period for the Lara Secondary College Rugby Academy, with our students continuing to represent the College at state and international levels.

France Tour

Our Senior Boys are currently in France on an exciting rugby tour, taking on three top-tier teams. The tour provides a fantastic opportunity for our students to test themselves against high-level opposition while experiencing rugby and culture on the international stage.

Keep an eye on the Lara Secondary College and Lara Rugby Instagram pages for match highlights and updates from the tour. Full match reports and a detailed tour wrap-up will feature in the next edition of the school newsletter.

U16 7s Development Gala Day

Our U16 Boys and Girls recently competed at a 7s Development Gala Day hosted by Northern Panthers Rugby Union Football Club. While neither team progressed to the final, both groups played some positive rugby and gained valuable experience in the fast-paced 7s format.

For the U16 Girls, the day was particularly valuable as an opportunity to build fitness, develop skills and put their training into practice in a competitive environment. These development opportunities are an important part of the ongoing growth of our Rugby Academy athletes.

Victorian Representative Honours

We are incredibly proud of the number of Lara Rugby Academy students representing Victoria across a range of competitions this season.

Havana Puke has been named Captain of the Victorian U16 squad travelling to Sydney for the Provincial Invitational Round. This is a fantastic achievement and recognition of Havana's leadership and commitment to rugby.

Joining Havana is Chelsea Forrest, who will earn her first Victorian cap. We congratulate Chelsea on reaching this important milestone and look forward to following her progress throughout the competition.

Tayten La Sparda will also represent Victoria in the Emerging Reds Ballymore Cup, providing another fantastic opportunity to compete against quality opposition and continue his development at representative level.

We are also excited to see Madaan Fuiono represent the Victorian U16s in the Super Rugby series. Madaan will play his first game on 19 September against the Brumbies in Melbourne, before travelling interstate to take on the Queensland Reds, Western Force and NSW Waratahs. He will then represent Victoria in the NSW Next Gen Cup.

Adding to our representative honours, Renee Chase has been selected in the Victorian U15 squad, another fantastic achievement for the Lara Rugby Academy.

We wish Havana, Chelsea, Tayten, Madaan and Renee, along with all our representative players, the very best throughout this exciting competition phase. Their selection is a wonderful reflection of their hard work, commitment and dedication to their rugby development.

We look forward to following their journeys and celebrating their successes along the way!

Recognising Our Coaches

Behind every developing athlete is a dedicated coaching team, and we would also like to recognise the incredible commitment of our Lara Rugby Academy coaches in supporting our students on their journey towards elite sport and representative pathways.

Coach Ephraim continues to bring his expertise, experience and passion to the program, helping our students develop their skills and progress towards higher levels of the game. His work in creating and developing state-level players, as well as his dedication to planning and running the France tour, has provided our students with outstanding opportunities to challenge themselves both on and off the field.

We would also like to congratulate Emma Brown, who was recently recognised at the Victorian Rugby Awards for her contribution to the game and the development of girls' rugby. Emma received the Representative in Schools Award, recognising the important work she continues to do in developing opportunities and pathways for young female rugby players.

We are extremely proud of the dedication of our coaching team and the role they play in helping our students reach the next stage of their sporting journey. Their commitment to developing not only better rugby players, but confident young people with opportunities to pursue elite pathways, is a key part of the success of the Lara Rugby Academy.

Congratulations to all our players, coaches and supporters on another exciting period for Lara Rugby. We look forward to seeing what comes next! 🏉

Rugby Academy Youtube Channel

To watch the lastest from the Rugby Academy head over to our YouTube channel using the following link.