From the Head of Sport

It was a very chilly start to Saturday sport last weekend but it was good to see everybody on time and keen to get out on the field. We had some excellent games and the positive attitude that the BMGS students have to their games, whether they win or lose is commendable.

Congratulations - Hockey

James Reynolds (Year 10) competed as a member of the ISA Open Hockey team at the NSWCIS Championships. James was successful in being chosen in the NSWCIS 16 and Under Hockey team to compete at the NSW All Schools Championships. We wish him all the best at the next level.

Congratulations - Cricket

Bethany Lane (Year 12, 2022) has been selected to the Women's Tasmanian Tigers XI and will be moving to Tasmania this week to take up this exciting selection.  We wish Bethany all the best in her state selection - a fantastic achievement for this talented spin bowler and former member of the BMGS First XI.

Skiing/Snowboarding

Any students who are interested in competing in the Redlands Cup ski and snowboarding championships that will be held on the 9th July 2023, please come and see me or email me for entry information.

Athletics Carnival

The BMGS Athletics carnival will be held on the 9th June at Pitt Park. All students are expected to attend this carnival. Please ensure you have your house polo and BMGS shorts to compete.

Parent volunteers are welcome. You can email me to express your interest.

Rotary will be running a BBQ on the day so please support them.

ISA Cross Country Carnival

The ISA Cross Country carnival was held on Wednesday, 24th May. A number of our students have been selected to compete at the NSWCIS Championships. Please ensure that all notes are returned promptly to the school.

All those who attended the ISA Carnival and hired a BMGS singlet need to ensure that these are washed and returned to the Uniform Shop by next week. Thank you.

Dogs Onsite

This is a reminder that dogs are not permitted onsite unless they are service dogs. We have had a number of parents and students ignoring this rule of late. There are a number of signs as you come into the school to remind you of this. Thank you for your cooperation.

Sporting Fixtures - Saturday, 27th May

Mrs Megan Harris

Head of Sport

Match Results - Saturday, 20th May

Boys' Football

BMGS U13 were defeated by St Spyridon College, 5-3

In what is becoming a pretty unpleasant déjà vu, we again didn’t have a full team, and those who took the time to travel to the venue had the threat of a forfeit hanging over them. The same faces that keep showing up, turned up and played their hearts out, despite some of them having lots of hard things going on in their lives. 

Again we borrowed players from the 14s, and are eternally grateful to Dante in goals, Xavier assisting Emerson and Eli K in mids, and Tom M in defence assisting Emil and Jensen. Paddy was in attack with Tom H and Olly. I felt that his left cross would be an asset. Without Angus, the Steel Curtain, in defence this week, and no Silas in goals, as well as having only three in defence instead of four, it was always going to be a struggle. We were one man down, playing against a full team that had an endless supply of substitutes, which they swapped every few minutes throughout the whole game. The boys as usual, were not in any way intimidated, played their game and started strongly, repeatedly pressuring St Spyridon and making numerous shots at target, which sadly missed the mark. We were 2-0 down at half time. In the second half the boys weren’t discouraged at all and roared back, with a hat trick from Man of the Match Paddy, who scored the goal of the match, and possibly of the day, with a curler from an 18 area free kick which soared over the St Spyridon wall as well as the hapless keeper to give us a lead of 3-2. The boys fought hard to maintain and extended their lead - Paddy, Olly and Tom H making gallant dashes and shots at goal. But, fatigue, and the inexhaustible influx of fresh legs on the Spyridon side, and the lack of our regulars in the mid, defence and goals exacted a toll, and we went down 5-3. 

I strongly believe that this team, with a full bench, is well-nigh invincible. I could easily see us in the final, and maybe even taking the cup. We’ve individual season goals to reach, a winning team to build, opponents to beat and a cup to win. We win it together, or we lose it together. We can DO this!!

Mr Zen Nzula, Coach

BMGS U14 defeated St Spyridon College, 4-0

The boys knew they were in for a tough game when they arrived at the ground and saw what looked like an opposing team of 50 completed various drills pre-game.

BMGS came out in the first half full of energy. Great passing throughout the whole team created multiple opportunities.  Our first goal was scored by Riley with a subtle finish following an outstanding run down the right wing a pin point cross from Josh.   Two further goals in the first half, a Beckham like freekick from James and goal poaching at its best by Henry meant BMGS headed into half time 3-0 up.

The boys knew that they would be in for a physical second half as the opposition were not happy with the result at half time.  Following a mazy run and just before he was about to pull the right foot trigger, Xavier S was tackled from behind. The referee awarded a penalty, Xavier dusted himself off and regained his composure to coolly slot the penalty in the bottom right corner to take the score to 4-0.

Special mention should be made of Toby in goals and the defensive line for finishing the game with a clean sheet! 

Thank you to the families attended and were rewarded with an outstanding performance.

Mr Chris Johnson, Coach

BMGS U15 were defeated by St Spyridon College, 5-0

The U15s game started off with a few mean passages of play from St Spyridon’s, but nothing our team couldn’t hold off. For the first while, the opposition appeared non-threatening. We had a few opportunities for the counter, with the ball recovered by Charlie and delivered up the line to Jed. Jed consistently raced to beat the opposition to the ball, unfortunately missing out narrowly on an opportunity by being called offside. Charlie and Jed had already run considerable lengths for the Second XI.  Otto also pulled up after a run for Seconds on the right wing and worked fiercely to recover the ball if beaten. Finn and Dylan worked cooperatively to distribute the ball from the centre. Raph and Lachlan continued to clear the ball when it breached the backline and made an effort to communicate as the attack from Spyridon’s increased.

Henry, playing up from 14s, put in a generous stint as both midfielder and striker, with Toby and James playing a half in goals each. Mitch and Jaiden traded off the position of left defence, with excellent jockeying from both players when the St Spyridon's players started to put on the pressure. Josh had a few strong opportunities at the top of the park, but ultimately we struggled to get the ball to the opposition’s goal. 

In the second half, a lot of our boys saw minor injuries due to the aggression of Spyridon’s players.  All of our players persisted in trying to hold the ball, play their positions and knock around passes.

We continue to improve each week and hope that with further rigorous training sessions we will continue to build our fitness and skills. Unfortunately, the opposition proved too strong for us this week. I look forward to the opportunity to take them on again later in the season.

Ms Annaliese Stammer, Coach

BMGS Second XI defeated St Spyridon College, 4-0

The Seconds XI took on St Spyridon away in Maroubra for the fourth round of the season. Coming off the back of last week's big win, the boys were fired up and ready to get another win. 

From the kick-off, the boys snapped into gear and the game was on. Jem Sullivan controlled it well in the middle of the park and kept it moving in our possession with some great team play alongside Finn Brinkman and Jed playing up from the 15s. Ben Delaney and Cooper Mackie held a high line that kept the Spyridon attack out and their distribution to Nathan Hilder and Charlie Monks, who was also playing up from 15s, kept the momentum flowing. With only ten minutes gone in the match, Jem slotted it through to Tom O’Connor, who timed his run perfectly and cut it back to Charlie Mannes to open the scoring making it BMGS 1 - St Spyridon 0. The restart came and Spyridon were quick to attack and get a shot away that was calmly gathered by Callum Knussen in goal. Cal layed

it out and BMGS was back on the attack. Jules Beale was dominating the right side of the pitch and found Charlie in support, after a quick 1-2 with Jules, Charlie was through on goal again and took his chance well and hit it into the back of the net to score his, and our second goal of the match. With the score now 2-0 to our team, BMGS kept it calm and pushed on for another chance at goal, Spyridon's attack through the middle was quickly shut down by Cooper and Ben who got wide to Tom for the switch and his perfectly clean cross was met by the pace of Jules on the right side of the pitch who brought it down well and smashed a shot out the keepers reach to make it BMGS 3 - St Spyridon 0 to end the first half.

As the second half began, Spyridon pressed hard and were through on goal but Callum was kicked off his line and out of his box to make the clearance. Jed and Finn were  excellent in midfield and provided great support for Jem in the middle to keep our momentum flowing. Thomas was instrumental on the left side of the pitch creating many chances up top and narrowly missing some of his own. Otto Umbers was called up to fill in the spot as Jed unfortunately picked up an injury after a nasty challange that stopped his run through the middle. Otto adapted quickly and played a crucial role holding the strength in our back 4. Charlie Mannes came close to getting his hat-trick and Jules for his double but Spyridon had improved their defensive efforts. Tom was getting closer each attack to scoring but was just falling short of the final touch as Spyridon desperately kept him out. Callum was called into action a couple more times and made some more great saves. With only under 10 minutes to go, Tom was through on goal once again after a skilful solo run and just as he went to finish it off he was taken down in the box after a clear foul was made. The referee awarded a penalty and after performing well all game it was only fair that he would take the penalty. Tom stepped up and kept his composure and rifled it into the back of the net to get his much deserved goal and BMGS fourth to end the match.

Great job, boys, another win, four goals and a clean sheet, a much deserved 3 points!

Goal Scorers:  Charlie Mannes (2), Jules Beale (1), Thomas O’Connor (1).  Man Of The Match: Charlie Mannes

BMGS First XI drew with St Spyridon College, 1-1

The boys First XI traveled to Maroubra for Round 4 of the season to play St Spyridon. Having not played against this team before, the boys knew they needed to bring their A game. From the kick off, BMGS went in strong and took control of the game. Isaac Nicholls and Connor Secker, both playing out of position, didn’t let it phase them as they held strong a defense in the back 4 alongside Trin and Jaxon. Spyridon’s style of play was a classic kick and chase counter attack, rarely displaying any play out from their backline, the long balls sent into our half were proving strong attacking chances but any threat

on goal was quickly shut down and BMGS winning it back, kept composure and held possession. Captain Jett showed great skill in midfield and the passing between himself, Will G and Jaiden, was running the Spyridon midfield ragged. Max, Oliver and Flynn kept applying pressure on goal, creating great chances getting away some great shots that they were unlucky to score. Jack Robson owned his box and his distribution from goal kept us in possession, with every ball finding BMGS feet.

A goal was still yet to come with scores being locked at nil all. The boys were eager to score, and kept Spryidon on the backfoot with most of the play being kept in their defending half. After some excellent play through the midfield, Will G caught out the Spyridon defense and gunned down the wing towards goal, sending a ball into the

box and after a mix up in the box, it was Jett Fendall who smashed a shot into the back of the net to open the scoring. From the restart, Spyridon came out firing and with minutes to go in the first half, Spyridon were awarded a penalty and tied the scores with the first half ending BMGS 1 St Spyridon 1.

The halftime talk was short and sweet and BMGS having been in the same position last game knew what they needed to do to get back into the game. The second half kicked off and the match was back on. Once again both teams came out firing and displayed even more intensity than the first half. BMGS were dominating and kept on applying the pressure. A couple of great chances came and went for both teams with Jack pulling off some crucial saves and BMGS narrowly missing our chance for a second goal. With Flynn and Oliver both off unfortunately injured, Jules Beal and Charlie Mannes were called up from Seconds on standby in case of a sub, and when brought on both provided instant impact. BMGS were coming so close to getting a winner with so many close chances and Spyridon looked extremely shaky as the boys kept peppering the attack in their half. In the dying minutes of the game, Jules, Charlie, Max and Jett got some great but narrowly missed shots away and BMGS were desperately working to get the job done. Spyridon held on and, as the final whistle came, the game ended in a draw BMGS 1 St Spyridon 1.

BMGS had given it everything and with the injuries that came were still the much better team on the day with Spyridon luckily sharing the points as a result.

It was a tough match but a strong performance to continue our undefeated run. Well done boys, onto next week!  Goal Scorer and Man of the Match - Jett Fendall.

Mr Cameron Flaherty, Coach

Netball

Round 3 - BMGS First VII defeated Barker College 2, 50-40

In a hard fought game, played in great spirit, the Firsts came out well on top. The Firsts dominated all over the court. Great shooting from Freya, Zara, Olivia and Zoe, kept scoreboard pressure on Barker to catch up. Great circle defence from Ruby, Zoe and Zara intensified the pressure to keep up, and the midcourt of Alana, Jess, Kate and Tarana hummed along smoothly.

BMGS Junior C were defeated by Barker College, 31-12

The girls played a great game on the weekend, starting very strong and pushing ahead in the first quarter. Unfortunately, with some mistakes and penalties against us, the game started to take a turn. Injuries started to increase, with quick decisions having to be made on the court. All players played very hard and tried to defend and attack to the best of their ability. The girls had a great game although losing in the end.

Round 4 - BMGS First VII defeated Central Coast Grammar 57-48

No game is easy in this division and the result wasn't assured until the last quarter. A slow start saw the Firsts down by three at the first quarter break, and the dominance of the opposition GS meant it was hard to claw back the advantage. Key turnover gains from Alana, Rose and Jess gave our girls the chances they needed. Freya, Zara and Olivia made the opposition pay for their mistakes with beautiful shooting under pressure.