Primary Schools Gala Day

On Friday 20 November 13 students represented McCarthy Catholic College in refereeing and umpiring touch football and netball at the Armidale Diocese Primary Schools gala at Tamworth. It was a very hot day, yet all students were enthusiastic and did a great job in umpiring the matches. All students were very cooperative and helpful in ensuring the day ran smoothly. They were a fine example to the younger students who played some great matches. It was a really good opportunity for these students to develop their confidence and communication skills and understand how sporting events are organised. These students represented the college with pride and distinction and helps strengthen the relationship that the college has with all the primary schools in the Diocese. A big thank you to Heidi Hardaker from the Armidale Diocese K-6 Sport and Performing Arts Program for allowing our students to be involved on the day. The students involved included; Bailey Betts, Joshua Beard, Tarnee Ingram, Grace Shanley, Jessica Martin, Mackenzie Mearns, Jimmy Purkiss, Isabella Bolsom, Charlotte Bridge, Tahlia Shepperd, Francesca Sears, Isabella Kerr, Keira Kerr, and Mia Wallace.

Rugby League and Oztag v Oxley High School

On Friday 20 November the Under 15 Rugby League boys and Under 15 girls oztag played against Oxley High School at Jack Woolaston Oval North Tamworth. The first match featured the girls oztag game which was played in 4 quarters due to the heat. Our girls were missing a couple of our best players due to injury yet they still played really well against a strong Oxley team. In a very competitive and tightly fought contest, the girls eventually went down 5 to 3. All the girls played well, especially Tomi Gavin, Annalise Tighe and Hannah Turner-Bourke who made several breaks and strong runs. The girls combined well as a team and created several try scoring opportunities. Oxley played well and deserved the win, but all the girls should be proud of their efforts.

The boys' game was a really tight contest. The game was of a very high quality and the ball handling of both teams was excellent in very warm conditions. There were a host of good players; Sebastian Lawler made several strong runs and defended stoutly; James Ferguson was outstanding as was Cameron Smith who made several incisive runs; Bradyn Hamilton, Parker Constable and John Felias made some inspiring runs and tackled strongly; Bailey Betts, Brock Turner and Troy Carrol were tough and did a lot of work throughout the game; whilst Bradyn Boonstra provided a lot of speed out wide.

It was a tight game but McCarthy were 8-4 winners in a tough game of football. A big thank you to Mr Bernie Williams and Mr Wade Leu who coached the teams and to Mrs Lisa Smith helped out on the day. Thank you to North Tamworth who provided the venue, to the referees and to Oxley High School. The teams included the following students;

Under 15 Boys Rugby League; John Felias, Cameron Smith, Will Thompson, James Ferguson, Sebastian Lawler, Bradyn Hamilton, Blake Hutchinson, Parker Constable, Brock Turner, Josh Martin, Campbell Thompson, Lewis Ebzery, Jack Smith, Bradyn Boonstra, Troy Carroll and Bailey Betts.

The Girls Oztag team included Chloe Bateup, Taleah Brown, Annalise Tighe, Erin Hansen, Claudia Cartan, Tomi Gavin, Riley Leys, Hannah Turner Bourke, Savannah Barber, Amber Mitchell, and Chloe Howarth.

Rugby League Skills Gala Day

On Wednesday 25 November 27 girls from years 7-10 were involved in the Rugby League skills gala day played at Jack Woolaston fields North Tamworth. The day was run by the NRL North West Development Officers Luke Taylor, Peter Stevens, Ryan Schmiedel and Jeremy Bruar. The girls had the opportunity to learn and practise many skills of the game. There were passing drills, tackling, and defensive strategies which they were then able to put into practise in a series of games. Our students played in combined teams from Quirindi High School, Oxley High School, Manilla Central School, and Tamworth High School. There were some great performances from many of our students. Most of the girls had played either Rugby Union or League before and exhibited great skills. Tomi Gavin played exceptionally well making several breaks. Jayda Constable, Eve Cloake, Cluadia Kenniff, Savannah Barber and Jessica Martin were all strong performers in the matches. Tarnee Ingram, Emily Dietrich and Grace Shanley also played to a high standard. Tyanna Kerr and Erin Allan from Year 10 were solid contributors for their teams. Ellie Tyrna came up with some great runs and tackles, as did Alisha Nixon. A big thank you to NRL North West for running the day and to Mrs Laird for helping out and assisting in coaching the girls.

The girls who attended on the day included:

Year 7 Girls

Emily Dietrich
Lucy Pascoe
Addison Reid
Hannah Wakely
Breanna Elliot
Jessica Martin
Maggie Highlands
Mackenzie Mearns
Ellie McKenchnie
Mia Wallace
Amelia Traill
Ellie Tyrna
Alisha Nixon

Year 8

Grace Shanley
Lauren Daye
Tarnee Ingram
Jayda Constable
Eve Cloake
Claudia Kenniff

Year 9/10 Girls

Tyanna Kerr
Tomi Gavin
Savannah Barber
Amber Mitchell
Chloe Howarth
Taleah Brown
Chloe Bateup
Erin Allen

Prime 7 News - Women's NRL

North-West Oztag Championships

On Thursday 3 December McCarthy Catholic College entered 7 teams for the North West Oztag championships from years 7-10.

The day was well organised and teams competing on the day included Peel, Tamworth, Oxley, Farrer, Carinya, and Quirindi High Schools.

The Year 7 boys' team MCC Blue went through the competition undefeated and many of the wins were secured by large margins. In the grand final the boys played a great game against Oxley High School and held on for a 2-1 victory. The team combined well with great defence and brilliant attacking plays. Adam Davis, Sullivan Butler, Rohan Martin, Jack Kelly, Bryce Walsh and Zac Whalan were outstanding.

The Year 9 boys playing for MCC Blue played more games than any other team and showed a ton of spirit and determination in the heat. They progressed to the semi-finals before going down 3-2 to Oxley High School in extra time. All the boys played their hearts out: Sebastian Lawler, Brock Turner, Bradyn Hamilton, James Ferguson, Bradyn Boonstra, Bailey Betts and Cameron Smith were outstanding.

The Year 8 boys team won all their round games before losing in the semi-final in a drop off against Oxley High School. There were several strong players including Sam Butcher, Jimmy Purkiss, Rory Newsome, Logan Ruffell and Zac Eagleston.

The girls' teams were extremely competitive. The year 7 and 8 teams won the majority of their matches before meeting in the semi-final. The year 8 team won and went through to the grand final before losing narrowly 3-2. Tarnee Ingram, Grace Shanley, and Lauren Daye were all outstanding, whilst Eve Cloake, and Claudia Kenniff were also strong.

The Year 7 girls had a talented team and enjoyed the experience. They demonstrated both speed and skill. Emily Dietrich, Jessica Martin and Lucy Pascoe were outstanding. All the girls contributed to a great team effort. The Year 9 girls finished the day in second place behind Tamworth High School in a great team effort the girls won a vast majority of their games with Monique Corbett, Annalise Tighe, Savannah Barber, Riley Leys, and Hannah Turner Bourke being standouts. Most of the girls were experienced oztag players and demonstrated great skill, speed and stamina. The Year 10 girls reached the semi-finals and played well throughout the day. Chloe Bateup, Ella Mitchell and Tyanna Kerr steered the girls well and girls made valuable contributions to a good team effort.

A big thank you to all the staff; Bernie Williams, Tanya Laird, Damian Kenniff, Shuan Nichols, and Lisa Smith for their hard work in supporting the students and coaching on the day. Thank you also to year 11 students who helped referee and coach on the day; Clint Aitken, Olivia Whittemore, Nathan Summers, Chloe Shanley, Phoebe Porter, Nick O’Connor, and Georgia Horniman. These students were fine ambassadors for the College. A big thank you to the referees andto Katrina Davis for her hard work in the running of the day.

Senior Oztag Success

On Friday December 11 the senior North West Oztag Championships were held alongside the Primary School Championships. Competing teams included Oxley, Tamworth, Quirindi, and Farrer Memorial Agricultural High School. Twenty students represented McCarthy Catholic College on the day.

The girls won their first 2 games comfortably 10-0 against Quirindi High School and 6-0 against Tamworth High School. The game against Oxley was a tighter contest, with the girls winning 3-0. The girl's defence was outstanding, especially their line speed, and tagging ability.. The pace and skill levels of players like Chloe Shanley, Georgia Horniman, Olivia Whittemore, Phoebe Porter, Macy Gillies and Daisy George was excellent. Abbegale Ryan played brilliantly; every time she touched the ball she was dangerous and she was deservedly named Player of the Final. In the final against Oxley the girls ran into a team determined to play well and as a result it was a draw 3-3 at the end of the game. The rules of drawn finals saw both teams reduced to 5 players. Oxley scored first and under the rules we had the right of reply. Fortunately we were able to score a great try. In the next phase Abbegale Ryan made a long break and scored to seal the match. It was a great game and it was really good to see the girls win another Championship.

The boys went into their first game against Farrer and really surprised them with a strong start to the game. The boys held a 2-1 lead midway through the second half and played with a lot of spirit but they eventually went down 3-2. In the second game they had a 2-2 draw against Quirindi High School The third game saw the boys go down narrowly 3-4 to Oxley High School, this was followed by another drawn game 3-3 against Tamworth High School. There was then a playoff for 3rd place against Oxley High School. All the boys played well especially Nicholas O’Connor, Nathaniel Thrift, Nathan Summers, Clint Aitken and Darcy Walker. Julian Fuller, Joe Mitchell and Logan Hawker all were valuable players as well. A big thank you to Katrina Davis for organising a fantastic day. Thank you to the referees and officials and we look forward to next year’s competition. The teams included the following students; Girls- Macy Gillies, Phoebe Porter, Georgia Horniman, Chloe Shanley, Daisy George, Abbegale Ryan, Skyler Dowden, Olivia Whittemore, Roma Bernardo.

Boys- Clint Aitken, Nathan Summers, Nathaniel Thrift, Darcy Walker, Julian Fuller, Noah Dunill, Joe Mitchell, Logan Hawker, Blake Parker, Oliver Rindo and Nicholas O’Connor.

Diocesan Cricket and Tennis

On Wednesday 2 December the boys' cricket team and girls' tennis team played against O’Connor Catholic College of Armidale. The cricket was held at Riverside playing fields Tamworth and the tennis at Treloar Park East Tamworth.

The girls who played tennis included Kaityln Lovell, Lauren Barnes and Claudia Kenniff. They participated in a range of singles and doubles matches. This was a valuable opportunity to gain some experience before the Diocesan trials in Gunnedah in Term 1 next year.

In the cricket O’Connor batted first and made a solid total of 178. Erin Allen and Tyanna Kerr opened the bowling against the two female opening batsmen and did well to snare a wicket each. This was a great experience for the girls and will certainly help in their cricket careers. Eddie Williams bowled well to grab 2-23 and Kilian Apen bowled well to collect 1-8 off 2 overs. He was unlucky not to get a couple of extra dismissals.

In reply, Rory Newsome (16 runs) and Noah Dunnil (39 runs) got the team off to a good start. They batted well playing some nice shots. Noah was particularly explosive hitting some big sixes. Mitchell Cannon played well to compile 21 runs. McCarthy was dismissed for 132 runs against an experienced and talented group of players from O’Connor Catholic College. The cricket team included; Erin Allen, Tyanna Kerr, Rory Newsome, Noah Dunnill, Eddie Williams, Kilian Apen, Mitchell Cannon, Will George, Joshua Beard, Brendan Irwin, Ben O’Connor and Will Thompson. A big thank you to Mrs Tanya Laird for driving the bus and coaching the tennis girls, and to O’Connor for travelling down from Armidale.

Liam Gordon Excels at the NSW All Schools Athletics

On the weekend of Saturday 5 December Liam Gordon of Year 8 participated in the NSW All Schools' Athletics Championships at Homebush in Sydney. Liam competed in two events the 200 and 400 metre sprints. Liam won both events and collected two gold medals. His time was 23 seconds in the 200 metres and 50 seconds in the 400 metres set a new record. Congratulations Liam on your amazing achievements, the College is very proud of your efforts.

Mr Brad Mitchell - Sport Coordinator

Catholic Diocese of Armidale