Sport

Another term, and another impeccable performance by the Blackburn High School students. It is becoming clear that the Winter Sports are our bread and butter. So far with all Junior AFL, Netball and Soccer teams convincingly winning Whitehorse division and progressing through the Eastern Metropolitan Regionals competition. Our Intermediate and Senior teams also showing high level of effort, grit and determination in all competitions with record number teams being entered, also winning Intermediate Girls AFL and Netball, and Boys AFL.  

It is fantastic to see BHS entering multiple teams in every competition on offer, with an extraordinary effort for a range of year levels in Badminton, Senior Basketball, Senior Table Tennis and Senior/Intermediate Soccer. We thank all the staff and student coaches who made this possible, the leadership and commitment brought on by the senior students does not go unrecognised. 

Term 3 begins with a number of Eastern Metropolitan Finals. Good luck to all the students who are representing BHS! Week 3 of Term 3 also sees the last of the Whitehorse Division round robin competitions for the intermediate age group, participating in basketball, table tennis and hockey.  

Enjoy your last interschool sport days for the year. 

Individual Students representing Blackburn High School for SSV  

Jack Hutching –Represented School Sport Victoria at the School Sport Australia Championships in the Boys under 15s volleyball team in June. He competed in ACT against state teams across Australia. 

Hannah Cho - 3rd Place School Sports Victorian State Golf Competition in May, with a gross score of 73, 1 over par. Well done Hannah and Jack. 

Lauren Van Der Westhuizen  Olivia R represent Australia in the Dresden International Youth Diving Meet, which fielded some of the best Junior Divers from all over the world. She dived amazingly and came away from the meet with 2 bronze medals – Junior A girls 3m Individual Springboard and Junior Girls 3m Springboard Synchro.

Blackburn dominates Whitehorse Division Cross Country

Last Friday a team of 80 runners headed out to Ruffey Lake Park for the Whitehorse Division Cross Country event. Overall, Blackburn finished in first place with each and every runner giving it their absolute best. Out of the 10 age/gender groups across the competition, we won 7 – 13 Yrs Girls, 14 Yrs Boys, 15Yrs Girls, 16 Yrs Girls, 16Yrs Boys, 17 – 20 Yrs Girls and 17-20Yrs Boys. 50 students have qualified to run at the Eastern Metropolitan Regional event which is scheduled for 13th June out at Yarra Glen Racecourse. Congratulations to all of our runners!

EMR & State Final Diving – Torin Whitehead SSV State Champion

On Monday we had 4 divers head out to Melbourne Sports and Aquatic Centre for the EMR and State Final. 

In the EMR competition, we had the following results; 

15-16 Yrs Girls – 

Ashley S 2nd Place, 

Amber Chaffer 4th Place 

Indianna G 10th Place

17-20 Yrs Boys –

Torin W 1st Place. 

They went on to the State Final where Ashley finished in 3rd place, Amber in 5th place, and Torin in 1st place – State Champion. Congratulations to all of our competitors.

EMR Cross Country 

2 EMR Champions, 4 Team Medals and 10 Students Qualify for State Final 

Last week, 46 students headed out to the Yarra Glenn Racecourse for the EMR Cross Country Finals. The track was heavy and the conditions cold but what more could you expect for this type of event. With around 100 runners in each event it was going to be a tough day out with only the top 12 runners eligible to go through to the State Final.

However, as always all of our runners did a brilliant job in running their absolute best with some terrific results.  Our senior runners headed off first with both the 17-20 Years and 16 Years boys taking on the 5km course. 17-20 Years Boys – Cody T (10th Place and a spot in the State Final), Kaiden M (18th Place) and special mention to Liam M who ran with an injury but still managed to finish in 44th place. 16 Years Boys – Angus B (12th Place and a spot in the State Final), Thomas S (45th Place) and Harvey Irvin (66th Place). 17-20 Years Girls – Charlotte F, Abigael P and Lucy F (17th, 24th and 40th Place) 16 Years Girls – Madeline K (9th Place and a spot in the State Final), Lucy B, Cheryl C and Emily M (13th, 23rd and 31st Place) This group of girls also finished 3rd in the Team Event. 15 Years Boys – Agustin P, Partaj D and Charlie D (21st, 45th and 76th Place). 15 Years Girls – Mia K (9th Place and a spot in the State Final), Alicia R, Sienna C, Yasmin W, Cassie R, Emily B and Jessica I (20th, 34th, 36th, 37th, 39th, 42nd Places). This group of girls also finished 3rd in the Team Event. 14 Years Boys – Thomas L (1st Place), Curtis R (4th Place), Luke S (6th Place) Charlie O (16th Place) Boys finished in 1st place in the Team Event so all will go through to the State Final. Jake Higgins and Joe K (23rd, 50th Places). 14 Years Girls – Chelsea D, Kayleigh G, Jennifer J (25th, 46th, 47th Places) 13 Years Boys – Harlan R, Isaac E R, Max S, Liam M(18th, 42nd, 47th,  65th Places) 13 Years Girls – Chloe L (1st Place and a spot in the State Final), Zoe S (7th Place and a spot in the State Final), Amaya T, Marlo F,  Abigail H, Charlotte P and Zara C (22nd,  53rd, 61st, 64th, 67th Places) This group also finished 2nd in the Team Event. 

Again – Congratulations to our State Finalists who will run at Yarra Glenn on 13th July. 

Chloe L, Zoe S, Thomas L, Curtis R, Luke S, Charlie O, Mia K, Madeline K, Angus B and Cody T. 

Nadine Roche – Carnivals Coordinator 

Year 9/10 Intermediate Boys AFL Whitehorse District 

On Monday, 8th May BHS Intermediate boys took to the field at Koonung Reserve in the Whitehorse District AFL Championship. In the most lopsided of contests, BHS completely outplayed KSC, EDSC, and Box Hill HS in the first 3 rounds of competition in cold and wet conditions. A total accumulated score of 262 points to 1 point reflects the true discrepancy between the teams. BHSSC also defeated the other aforementioned schools which set up a dream final match between the two undefeated schools: BHS vs BHSSC.  

The first half was an arm wrestle between two very evenly matched teams. At half time the scores were even with each school scoring 1 goal and 3 behinds. The 2nd half would be the defining “premiership quarter” and BHS turned the game on its head with a 6 goal to 1 blitz early in the half. At the final siren BHS comprehensively defeated BHSSC by 35 points and hence qualify to the Division round in Term 3. 

All 19 players made valuable contributions throughout the day, whether that be in the back line, midfield, or forward line. The leadership team consisting of Mason P, James W and Darcy M were outstanding in the midfield engine room covering kilometres and accumulating possession after possession. Will S, Isaac L, Jake S, Luke D, Josh M and Joel B provided dangerous marking targets up forward and kicked multiple goals. Will A, Oscar M, Daniel B and Drew A were relentless with their defensive pressure, strength and tackling in the back half.  

I was so proud of the way the boys went about the entire day in challenging winter like conditions. From the professional warm-up to after the final siren sounded, they represented BHS with pride, performed at a high standard on the field and displayed great sportsmanship. It also should be acknowledged that all schools played in the right spirit, behaved superbly, shook hands at the end of each game and enjoyed playing with and against some of their mates. This was a great showcase of school sport, and the values of teamwork, commitment, resilience and personal achievement were ever present.  

Round 1: BHS 8 goals, 13 behinds, 61 points defeated Koonung 0 goals, 0 behinds, 0 points 

Goal kickers: James W 3, Luke D 2, Jake S 1, Taylan C 1, Mason P 1 

Round 2: BHS 18 goals, 10 behinds, 118 points defeated EDSC 0 goals, 1 behinds, 1 points 

Goal kickers: Jake S 4, Will S 2, Mason P 2, Will A 2, Drew A 2, Joel B 1, James W 1, James L 1, Josh M 1, Isaac L 1, Daniel B 1 

Round 3: BHS 12 goals, 11 behinds, 83 points defeated Box Hill HS 0 goals, 0 behinds, 0 points 

Goal kickers: Will S 3, Taylan C 2, Isaac L 2, Darcy M 1, James W 1, Zac RR 1, Josh M 1 

Round 4: BHS 7 goals, 8 behinds, 50 points defeated BHSSC 2 goals, 3 behinds, 15 points 

Goal kickers: Luke Dr 3, Will S 2, Josh M 1, Joel B1,  

Overall best players: Mason P, James W, Darcy M, Will S, Luke D, Josh M, Will A, Daniel B.

Year 8 Boys EMR AFL

On Thursday, 15th June BHS Year 8 boys took the field at Elgar Park in the EMR AFL Championship. Each school had 3 games in their pool consisting of 2x15-minute halves. The winning school in each pool would then play off in the grand final. An easy win in round 1 against Vermont provided a nice warm-up for harder challenges ahead. Round 2 against Norwood was an absolute thriller. BHS was 8 points down at half-time, but an inspiring 2nd half led by Tom, Kai, Jacob, Coby and Jayden saw BHS score 3 goals to 1 resulting in an 8 point win. A more comfortable 2 goal win against Heathmont in the final round set up the anticipated grand final between last years finalists BHS and Rowville. Unfortunately, BHS could not repeat the heroics of the corresponding game in 2022 and went down by 4 goals. This was a fitting result and the best team won on the day and thoroughly deserve their place at state level. Congratulations to BHS on a fantastic AFL campaign winning 6 games and losing only 1. BHS did not leave empty handed as they were awarded the runners up pennant for EMR at the post-match presentation. Thank you to Assistant Coach’s Brooke Smith (AFL Trainee) and Year 10 students Darcy M and Mason P.

• Round 1: BHS  10 goals, 5 behinds, 65 points defeated Vermont SC  1 goals, 1 behinds, 7 points

Goal kickers: Kai J 3, Hunter R2, Xavier A, Jacob B, Jorge Z, Tom L, Xavier J

• Round 2: BHS  4 goals, 4 behinds, 26 points defeated  Norwood SC  3 goals, 2 behinds, 20 points

Goal kickers: Kai J 2, Tom L, Coby V

• Round 3: BHS  4 goals, 5 behinds, 29 points defeated Heathmont HS 2 goals, 2 behinds, 14 points

Goal kickers: Tom L, Harley W, Atticus  C, Zac M

• Grand Final: BHS 2 goals, 2 behinds, 14 points weredefeated by Rowville SC 6 goals, 5 behinds, 41 points

Goal kickers: Xavier A 2

Overall best players for the EMR games: Kai J, Jacob B, Tom L, Harrison K, Jayden R, Jorge Z, Charlie O, Zac M, Coby V, Xavier A. 

Year 8 Boys AFL Whitehorse District

On Monday, 29th May 22 very enthusiastic Year 8 boys took the field at Koonung Reserve in the Whitehorse District AFL round robin. Expectations were very high as this BHS team made it all the way to the State level last season. BHS lived up to the hype by convincingly defeating all opposition schools. Strong first-half performances in all games allowed some coaching experimentation. All players played a similar amount of game time (125 out of a possible 150 minutes) and were given the opportunity to play in a variety of positions at both ends of the ground. Jacob B, Kai J and Tom L were outstanding in the midfield engine room covering kilometres, accumulating possession after possession and kicking goals. Harrison K provided plenty of run off halfbacks while Jorge Z and Jayden R were dangerous forwards. BHS’s next and more competitive challenge awaits at Division on Tuesday, 13th June. Thank you to Assistant Coach Brooke Smith (AFL Trainee) and Year 10 students Darcy M and Mason P. 

• Round 1: BHS 20 goals, 17 behinds, 137 points defeated EDSC 1 goals, 0 behinds, 6 points

Goal kickers: Kai 4, Jorge 3, Jayden 3, Hunter 2, Coby 1, Joe 1, Harrison 1, Jacob 1, Logan 1, Luke 1, Tom 1

• Round 2: BHS 11 goals, 16 behinds, 82 points defeated Koonung 2 goals, 1 behinds, 13 points

Goal kickers: Jacob 2, Kai 1, Coby 1, Harvey 1, Xavier A 1, Aidan 1, Jorge 1, Felix 1, Jayden 1, Harrison 1

• Round 3: BHS 15 goals, 28 behinds, 118 points defeated  BHHS 2 goals, 3 behinds, 15 points

Goal kickers: Jorge 3, Jacob 2, Jayden 2, Kai 2, Xavier A 2, Jacob 1, Joe 1, Tom 1, Hunter 1

Overall best players: Kai J, Jacob B, Tom L, Harrison K, Jayden R, Jorge Z, Luke S, Charlie O. 

Year 7 Boys EMR AFL 

On Tuesday, 20th June BHS Year 7 boys took the field at Elgar Park in the EMR AFL Championship. Each school had 3 games in their pool consisting of 2x15 minute halves. The winning school in each pool would then play off in the grand final. BHS had convincing wins against Vermont and Ashwood, however lost a crucial game against Norwood. Unfortunately, in these short games a bad 5–10-minute patch and some decisions that didn’t go in BHS favour proves very costly and thus denying a grand final opportunity against Rowville. Despite the disappointment, BHS should be proud of their efforts overall winning 4 games and losing 1 in the 2023 season. Positively, the future looks bright especially when this group is in Year 9 and Year 11 as the year above is very talented. Thank you to Assistant Coaches Brooke Smith (AFL Trainee) and Year 9 students Jake Stone and Fynn Waring-Jones. 

Round 1: BHS 5 goals, 3 behinds, 33 points defeated Vermont SC 2 goals, 2 behinds, 14 points 

Goal kickers: Jordan Johns 2, Harrison McMahon, Max Lazarus, Ari Riedel  

Round 2: BHS  2 goals, 1 behinds, 13 points weredefeated by Norwood SC 3 goals, 1 behinds, 22 points 

Goal kickers: Mark Ma, Jordan Johns 

Round 3: BHS 6 goals, 6 behinds, 42 points defeated Ashwood HS 2 goals, 0 behinds, 12 points 

Goal kickers: Roman P, Dion S, Cooper D, Mark Ma, Harlan Reynolds  

Overall best players for the EMR games: Alex Giosserano, Mark Ma, Jackson Lewis, Max Lazarus, Harlan Reynolds, Jordan McTaggart. 

Junior Boys Netball -  Whitehorse Division Champions 

On Tuesday, our Junior Boys Netball teams headed out to Heathmont for the Whitehorse Division competition.  

Boys A – The Boys A team came into the competition as SSV Champions from 2022 so expectations were high. They certainly did not disappoint, accumulating a massive 90 goals for the day across their 3 games v’s East Doncaster, Koonung and Box Hill and conceding only 1 goal. It was a real team effort and the boys played in various positions on the court throughout the day. Congratulations Aiden B, Jacob B, Callum H, Reuben J, Kai J, Tom L, Hunter R and Jorge Z. The boys will now go on to represent BHS at the EMR Finals on 24th July. 

Boys B – Just like our A team, the B team played with enthusiasm, maturity and great sportsmanship. They too accumulated 90 goals for the day and conceded only 2 goals in total. The boys  were happy to play in any position and as a result gained experience in both defence, offence and mid court play. 

Fantastic effort boys – Nian C, Joshua G, Rohan H, Joe K, Zachary O, Charlie O, Luke S and Cooper T. 

 Internsport Girls Netball

Intermediate Sport

Senior Badminton

Year 9 Sport Education

Year 7 Volleyball

BHS STAFF SPORTING SUCCESS 

On Sunday, 18th June, BHS AFL Trainee Brooke Smith played for the U23 ALL-STARS vs AFLW ACADEMY at Marvel Stadium. The U23 All-Stars produced a rousing result against the AFLW Under 18 Academy, scraping home to win by two points. Played at a fast pace with equal parts physicality and skill, the game proved a fitting display of the AFLW’s next generation. Most Valuable Player (MVP) awards were handed out on either side, with Dandenong Stingrays product Brooke Smith earning said honours for the victors. Brooke notched up 17 disposals in a strong four-quarter effort and registered 7 rebounds 50’s and 5 tackles in her role across half-back. 

Congratulations Brooke on your outstanding achievement on the big stage.