SAINTS SPORTS

Around the Grounds

Year 8 Rugby League

Saints Year 8 Rugby League team took on our fierce rivals Trinity Bay in the grand final at Stan Williams Park on Wednesday of Week 9. In a season where the boys had shown a significant improvement from week to week, they saved their best performance for the big stage. Saints forward pack dominated early in proceedings, with Ethan Morrissey leading the way through the middle putting Trinity Bay’s defence under pressure. As the match progressed the boys kept mounting pressure on Trinity Bay before a spectacular cut out pass from Trey Fitzgerald set up Peter Yamashita for the match sealing try, securing an 18-10 victory to be crowned FNQ champions. Congratulations to all the boys involved in the team on their commitment to training and improvement. This was definitely the difference between us and our opponents at the end of the season. We look forward to what this group of young men can do in the future at Saints. Thanks Mr Rob Anderson and Mr James Will for the time and effort that you put into the season.

BDO Hockey Tournament 

The BDO Senior Hockey Carnival took place at Cairns Hockey, with three Saints teams participating in the competition. The boys delivered outstanding performances, with our Senior Team No.1 facing a 3-0 defeat against St. Mary's, while the Junior team emerged victorious with a 1-0 win against St. Mary's. Thanks Mrs Bolton, Mr Slatcher and Mr Brimstone for your management and coaching of the teams. 

Young guns stand tall in Senior Hockey Tournament

Early Monday morning the St Augustine’s Junior (Yr 7-10) Hockey team travelled down to Townsville to compete in the inaugural NQ Schools Open Hockey Competition. Up against much older opposition, from some of Townsville’s most reputable sporting schools including Kirwan High, Ignatius Park and Ryan Catholic College, the boys performed exceptionally well across the two days of competition drawing high praise from their opponents and finishing 3rd overall.

The boys flew out of the blocks with a convincing 10-0 win in their first match against an inexperienced Ignatius Park 2 side. The team passed the ball around well creating plenty of space and opportunities with goals to Anthony Taifalos (4), Blake Watson (2), Oliver Donnelly (2), Lucas Brierly and Franky Baker. In the second match of the day, the boys were up against tournament favourite's Kirwan High. Despite the Saints boys controlling much of the game for the first 10 minutes, Kirwan capitalised on a short corner, scoring with a well-placed drag flick. Several minutes later Kirwan then extended their lead to 2-0 with a goal from another short corner, despite Marlon Sandoval making a remarkable save from another drag flick only for his shot block to then be tapped in. The boys continued to back their ability, controlling possession, and moving the ball around the park and were finally rewarded with a goal to Blake Watson shortly after halftime. Looking to force a result, the boys pushed forward with an attacking mindset creating numerous opportunities. However, a brilliant individual goal from Kirwan managed to catch our condensed defensive structure out, they advanced the score to 3-1 late in the game and put the match beyond doubt. 

After a long day, the boys were grateful to return to our accommodation for the evening for a shower before heading out to dinner to refuel with a pizza feast at a local restaurant. After a short stroll along the Strand, the day was capped off with a gelato before retreating to their beds for a well-deserved rest in preparation for the next round of games.

Day 2 started in similar fashion to the previous day, with the boys recording another dominant victory over Ryan Catholic College. Goals to Franky Baker (2), Anthony Taifalos, Hayden Veivers, Lucas Brierly and Piumal Warshamana Dewayalage. The win setup an exciting encounter against Ignatius Park 1, with the result to determine 2nd overall. The boys started strongly and were rewarded with an early goal to Franky Baker to lead 1-0. However, the senior members of the Ignatius squad took control forcing several short corners, with them managing to score from 2 in short succession to wrestle back the lead at halftime. Some inspirational words from Coach Gavin Slatcher had the boys primed for the second half and despite creating numerous chances we were unable to find the back of the goal, with some brilliant goal keeping being the difference, constantly defying the many threats on goal. A late goal to Ignatius Park sealed the 3-1 win. While not the result the boys were looking for, they can be very pleased with their efforts competing strongly against much older opposition across the two days and representing their College with distinction in the way they conducted themselves both on and off the field. It was an absolute pleasure to be involved with the boys and I thank them for their cooperation and behaviour throughout the trip. Special mention must go to younger members, the Year 7 & 8 boys who made up 9 of the 15 man squad, who stood tall against much older opposition and were testament to the spirit of Saints sporting teams.

The presence of so many younger players bodes well for our involvement in future years. After a very successful first year, the organisers are hoping to grow the competition further with several Brisbane schools looking to be involved in 2024. NQ all schools hockey.

JSS 

Saints JSS teams faced arch-rivals Cairns High in the final round of Term 3. Cairns High were looking for revenge after Saints dominated the first meeting between the schools. Cairns High came out on top in a round of tight games, winning three of the five sports. Our AFL and touch football teams continued their unbeaten run throughout the competition with convincing victories whilst our basketball, football and volleyball teams all suffered tight losses. 

The beginning of Term 4 saw the JSS competition enter the cross-over rounds where schools in the North and South pools would meet. Our first opponent from the southern pool was Woree High School. Our teams managed to secure a perfect round with 5 victories to get our term off to a great start. However, it was not all one-way traffic with our touch and volleyball teams having to fight hard to secure victories against a strong opposition. Saints travel to St Mary’s for the next round of cross-over games in Week 3. 

Round 7 vs CSHS

Round 8 vs WSHS

Special Achievement – Henry King 

Congratulations to Henry King on representing Queensland schoolboys against New South Wales schoolboys in the prestigious Interstate Exchange. Henry performed well throughout the competition with both the bat and ball.