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Huntingtower-Heyington Shield – Match Report 

On Friday 22 May, St Catherine’s squared up against long standing opponent Lauriston in the Huntingtower-Heyington Shield for 2026. 

The lead up was sensational; nerves, excitement and an overwhelming sense of pride for our School was felt throughout the entire campus. The Senior team spent the week creating posters, their banner and the second instalment of the ‘Carb Loading’ night, held by the Captains before the big game. 

A new tradition began in 2026, with the Inaugural Huntingtower-Heyington Luncheon held prior to the big match. A luncheon born out of wanting to bring together decades of St Catherine’s and Lauriston alumnae who have helped shape the AFL programs at both schools. It was a wonderful way to begin the afternoon and a tradition that will continue for many decades to come. 

A perfect Autumn day graced Scotch Main oval — the scene of what was to be a game to remember. Lauriston started as heavy favourites, sitting on top of the ladder with a 3-1 record coming into the game. St Catherine’s hadn’t won the Shield since 2019 and was the underdog with a 1-2 record before the match. Both schools stepped out onto the historic and picturesque ground with nerves and excitement, ready to give their all for four quarters. 

St Catherine’s started on fire, winning the first centre clearance thanks to Pippa VdV and Zara S, pushing the ball deep into the forward line. Due to an untimely injury to star full forward Clara C, St Catherine’s coaching staff went with a small forward line with speed and aggression. The small forward speed was on full display early in the first quarter, creating havoc amongst the Lauriston defenders. Aaliya D and Annabel A pursuing each defender like it was the only thing that mattered. Annabel A opened the scoring with a peach of a goal and the St Catherine’s crowd behind the goal was in raptures. This kicked Lauriston into gear, and they put pressure onto the St Catherine’s defenders for the remainder of the quarter. 

Moving into the second quarter, we witnessed a see-sawing contest between both 50-metre arcs. In defence, Arabella F and Hettie D formed a brick wall rebounding the ball each time, Diya A provided constant energy across the entire field, proving so valuable whenever she went near the contest. Lauriston was defending stoutly throughout the second quarter, until a forward 50 boundary throw-in, deep in St Catherine’s goal territory fell to Diya, whose quick hands proved vital, feeding the ball to Zara S, who duly snapped through traffic and slotted one of the goals of the year! The scenes behind the goals could only be seen to be believed. Drums playing, trumpets blaring, students and fans hugging with pure joy. The half-time siren sounded and St Catherine’s took a 13-4 lead into the main break. 

During half-time, our Captains, Ruby and Tilda, were pushing the team to continue their efforts for another half. No mention of the drought facing St Catherine's, or the fact the team was up by two goals, only focusing on the efforts of everyone on the field and how important everyone’s roles were. 

To start the second half, the coaches moved the magnets and swung star midfielder Pippa VdV to half-back; a move which completely turned the game on its head. Any time Lauriston went to push the ball forward, there was Pippa patrolling the defence with clear vision and determination. Aided by the strong leadership of Madeleine dFN alongside her, the defence stood tall throughout the third quarter. Alex A and Isla M playing on the wings helped move the ball forward at any intercept from Pippa and Madeleine, playing with speed and poise. Shield debutants Annie O and Giselle G proved that being a first gamer had no impact on how they attacked the game; starting the second half with only one goal in mind, ‘tackle everyone’. A goalless third quarter meant St Catherine’s took a seven-point lead into the last change. You could see it on the faces of all the St Catherine's players; they knew what was at stake and focused on 12 more minutes of hard running and team footy. 

Another debutant, Issy B, decided to take it upon herself in the fourth quarter to set the tone. From the half forward line, into the midfield, Issy threw her body around and made sure every touch of the footy was followed up by a tackle or a shepherd. As time ticked by, the crowd got nervous, becoming more rapturous in their singing and barracking. Jess K, not shy of a big moment, saved a near certain goal in the fourth and cleared the ball from the defence. With 48 seconds left on the clock, Lauriston burst through the pack and scored a stunning goal to bring them within one point of St Catherine’s. As the clock wound down, Lauriston got the final centre clearance and pushed the ball deep into their forward line, only to be thwarted by Hettie D, who grabbed a tremendous intercept mark. The clock ticked further down. Lauriston pressed with every second to get the ball to their goal. But as the sun was setting, so was the victory from Lauriston’s grasp, and as the final siren sounded, St Catherine’s had broken the drought and reclaimed the Shield, winning 13-12. 

The scenes at full-time could only be described as euphoric, with parents and students storming the field to join in the celebration with the team. As everyone poured their emotion out, it was only fitting that the final score was sitting in the backdrop of Ruby and Tilda being lifted onto their peers’ shoulders to celebrate. 

A momentous occasion matched by the intensity and passion shown on field by everyone. Pippa VdV was named Player of the Match, receiving a signed Melbourne AFLW jersey and having the knowledge that her stellar performance was watched and admired by five current Melbourne AFLW players. 

Both schools acknowledge the work done by the Breast Cancer Network Australia and the support we receive yearly from the amazing foundation, and the generosity from Scotch College to allow our teams to play on their Main oval. 

House Athletics 

On 25 May, all Year 7 to 12 students came together at Duncan McKinnon Reserve for the 2026 St Catherine’s House Athletics Carnival. It was great to see so many students competing in multiple events and led brilliantly by our House Captains and Heads of House. The day featured outstanding competition, great spirit and memorable performances throughout.

It was a close contest all day, with just 13 points separating the Houses until the Relay events decided it. 

Results:

Congratulations to Langley Templeton for taking out the 2026 House Athletics title with 943 points. Followed by:

• 2nd - Davis, 936 points
• 3rd - Beaulieu Blair, 931 points
• 4th - Holmes Kilbride, 906 points.

A special mention to Izzy F (Davis) who took out the Blue Ribbon with a time of 12.96, and to Lola P (Beaulieu Blair) who claimed the Junior Flyer with a time of 13.70. Davis also took home the House Chant with fantastic spirit and enthusiasm on the day.

Congratulations to all students for working together as a team and collecting as many points as possible for their House. 

GSV Division Two Cross Country Championships 

On Friday, we saw students from Years 5 to 12 compete at the GSV Cross Country Division Championships; the one day of the year when we get to see both Primary and Senior School students competing together.

We took 30 of our Year 5 and 6 students to Cruden Farm to compete in the 2km event. Congratulations to Anya, Alice and Charlotte who all finished in the Top 10 in their respective year levels.

Our Year 7 to 12 students qualified for Division Two, where 47 students proudly represented St Catherine's. A huge congratulations to Emma H (Year 9) and Charlotte R (Year 10) who both placed in the Top 10 in the Intermediate division.

Team results were outstanding:

• Juniors 4th overall
• Intermediates 2nd overall
• Seniors 6th overall. 

This saw St Catherine’s finish 3rd overall in Division Two, which is an incredible achievement.

Congratulations to every girl who competed and trained throughout the season. Your consistency and hard work paid off and produced a fantastic result for the whole school.