Sport - Football Showdown

Our inaugural Junior Boys Football Showdown, dubbed showdown 1, took place today at Lunchtime on the W.H.S Oval, with our year 7 Boys pitted against our year 8 Boysin a 30 minute, full-ground, no-tackling contest.

With our year 8s preparing for their Upper Hume carnival next Wednesday at the Barr Reserve, it was a good hit-out for them despite missing multiple key players including Lachlan Downing, Oskar McGahan & Hugh Spring. They faced a close-to-full-strength and very strong year 7 team that won 2 of 4 matches at their own Upper Hume carnival in May, including becoming our 1st Football team of any age group to beat Galen College in at least 7 years.

Kicking with a strong breeze in the 1st half, the year 8s dominated early, appearing to be too big, too fast and too good. Riley McKay was strong in the ruck giving his midfielders first use, Andrew Fraser, Noah Williams and Clarence Lampa were busy on the ball, and talls Thomas Fieldew and Isaac Robinson were hard to stop, with Robinson kicking a nice goal. The year 7s however began getting their hands on the ball and almost scored a couple of times against the wind, but still went in at halftime 0-9 down and lucky the 8s hadn't kicked straighter.

While Vice Principal and Tallangatta & District FL League medallist Mr Paola addressed the year 8s at half-time, calls of "we have to put someone on Clarence" could be overheard from the year 7 huddle, with many of the year 7s hurting from yesterday's Upper Hume Soccer carnival in Wodonga, on top of footy training last night, plus an intense match of Soccer in P.E just prior to Lunchtime. Still, the character, competitiveness & talent of our year 7s would soon be proven again.

Thomas Fieldew goaled against the wind to put the year 8s up by 15 early in the 2nd half, and a blowout looked likely. But the momentum quickly shifted after that moment. With ruckman Mason Skermer taking ascendency at the centre bounces, both feeding his rovers and following up his own taps kicking his team forward, the year 7s began their fight back. Luke Pensak was vital at centre half back, reading the play before his opponents, attacking it with pace, gathering it brilliantly sometimes with one hand, and booting it forward. Nick Jones was likewise, winning it in the air through the middle and linking forward. Lane Sloan swooped on loose balls time and again, with electrifying pace and scarily smooth movements and hands, with one intercept the most brilliant piece of football of the match and causing football enthusiasts to nod their heads. He was the Rolls Royce in the year 7 parking lot.

After Sloan scored his team’s 1st goal to give them a fighting chance, it was Angus Fraser who emerged the potential match winner. Opposed to his bother Andrew, the rover and Co-Captain got forward and took a mark 30m out, kicking truly to put the year 7s within a kick. The Central Umpire controversially awarded the goal, despite being a distance away & the 8s adamant it hadn’t crossed the line. It was an apparent replica of the incident at the Upper Hume Soccer, however this time, for a time at least, it appeared to go in the favour of our year 7 boys.

When twenty seconds later, the crafty Fraser marked cleanly again unchecked in virtually the same spot and then kicked his 2nd goal in a minute to put the 7s in front, they had kicked 3 goals in a few minutes and the 8s realised they had a game on their hands. Under pressure, the 8s stepped it up with Isaac Robinson now at centre half back taking control and spearing kicks to damaging targets through the middle. The ​Rolls Royce of the year 8 side, Robinson is one of the smoothest movers and classiest, skilled tall players we've seen come through the school in a long time. Jeremy Bagley was also busy clearing it out of defence, and suddenly Zeke Hogan marked 20m out directly in front at the ​One Mile Creek end, and converted to put the year 8s back in front by 4 points.

However, with a minute left, the inspirational Mason Skermer drifted forward and marked to give the 7s a shot at the lead from 25m out on a 45 degree angle. He kicked it straight through to put the 7s in front by 2 points. It 'appeared' the match-winning goal, with the 8s on their one final foray left, almost scoring in the dying seconds only to be held up on the goal line as the siren sounded.

Final scores were adjusted post-game to reflect the ​Central Umpire's goal error in awarding Angus’ 1st major. Wonderful sportsmanship from year 7 leaders Mason Skermer and Luke Pensak, as well as Jaxson Davern and others, who admitted after the game that the goal hadn't crossed the line, led to consultation with others on the goal line. This confirmed the fairest thing to do was to amend it to a behind, meaning it was a 3 point victory to the year 8s.

FINAL SCORES -

Year 8 Boys - 3.6.24

Year 7 Boys - 3.3.21.

BEST PLAYERS -

Year 8: Isaac Robinson, Clarence Lampa, Thomas Fieldew, Riley McKay, Andrew Fraser, Jeremy Bagley.

Year 7: Mason Skermer, Angus Fraser, Lane Sloan, Luke Pensak, Nick Jones

GOAL KICKERS -

Year 8 - Thomas Fieldew 1, Zeke Hogan 1, Isaac Robinson 1.

Year 7 - Angus Fraser 1, Lane Sloan 1, Mason Skermer 1.

Thanks boys for a great spectacle today. Today was a reflection of the terrific and talented group of youngsters you both are, and a fine example of the positive school culture you are driving.

Jud Mullins

CLC Coordinator.