Sport News

Firstly, I’d like to start by thanking our groundsman for the work they are doing this week, particularly on Flat 7 and 8, after we progressed with rugby and football trials last Saturday. This is not to understate the work they did last week when it rained up until Thursday, and they were required to get AFL posts down, rugby and football posts up, mark lines, and meet other demands around the College with the Headmasters tours, assemblies and the Rush Dance. Leaving the Flats on Saturday afternoon was a great feeling knowing we got all the internal trials to occur, despite the weather, whilst at the same time knowing there was plenty of work to get our fields back into the pristine state we have come accustomed to. So much work goes on behind the scenes to ensure our boys enjoy the sporting opportunities available to them and our groundsman are at the forefront of this. 

We respect our groundsman's work and this week has required some juggling of training times, so we alleviate further damage to our fields. On Saturday, the College hosts Padua in rugby and football trial matches. We will have to send some matches to Banyo to fit all games in and reduce the traffic on our fields. As soon as the games schedule is finalised this will be posted on the College app. Fingers crossed the fields get some reprieve this week to ensure all our trial fixtures against Padua can occur. It is a day by day proposition at the moment, and a schedule is unlikely until we get an idea of what the weather is doing. 

Parents and students are asked to be patient regarding selections for both football and rugby teams. The process of placing boys into teams is a difficult one and will take quite a long period of time before coaches start to settle on teams. With 38 rugby teams and 35 football teams across the whole College program, it is a massive process grading boys, but all coaches are doing their best to place boys in teams appropriate to their ability level. The trials against Padua this Saturday will help the process. Depending on how Padua match up to us in team numbers, we may still have some games between MCA teams to help us with the team placements and give boys a game. 

If students are away for any period of the trial process, it may influence the team selections. Many coaches will not know all players at this early stage. Coaches are guided by who attends each session. If a face is missing, it can be easily forgotten within this process. The Sports Office has received many emails from parents regarding students being absent from trials. I assure you that these names are collated and have been passed on to the respective coordinators. The reality is that it is hard to select players for teams when they are not present. Attendance during the trial process is important. All students who have signed up will make a team though - guaranteed. As we have said on many occasions, we want to get as many boys playing for MCA as possible, regardless of what team they make.

Thanks to Mr Jon Fitzgerald and Mr Tim Sedgwick, who facilitated a Level 1 Rugby Coaching Course for some of our coaches on Monday evening and will continue next Monday to finish the course. 

The chess trials will continue on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons this week and Tuesday afternoon next week. It has been great to see the level of interest in our chess program, and we thank Mr Dan Bull and Mr Tim Humphry for their commitment to the chess program. 

Our cross-country boys continue to train hard in the mornings. Head Coach, Mr Shane Ward and coordinator Mr Brendan Furdek have been impressed by our boys' efforts to meet the demands set by them. It takes a special kind of athlete to commit to cross-country, which has been particularly evident in the early stages of the season. We take our hats off to our cross-country team as they strive to defend our AIC title. 

Individual Achievements

On the weekend before last, Angus and Archie Bathe competed at the Australian Open Water Swimming Championships. Angus placed 5th in the U/17 boys 7.5km race, and Archie finished 15th in the U15 boys 5km race. Well done boys!

On the same weekend, the Queensland State Athletics Championships occurred. A number of the boys have continued working since last year's AIC track and field season. 

Some great results included: 

• Joel Drew (U16) - Gold 200m Hurdles and Gold 100m Hurdles. (National Qualifiers - both events)
• Lee Martin (U16) - Silver Shot Put and Bronze Javelin. (National Qualifiers - both events)
• Carl Martin (U20) - Silver Shot Put and Bronze Javelin, 5th Discus (National Qualifiers - three events)
• Fraser Pye (U17) - Silver Triple Jump (National Qualifier)
• Daniel Drew (U18) - Bronze 110m Hurdles (National Qualifier)
• Jai Jarro (U15) - 5th Shot Put final
• Tom Prole (U18) - 1500m Finalist (National Qualifier in 1500m and Steeplechase)
• James Prole (U16) - 5th 2000m Steeplechase (National Qualifier) and 1500m Finalist
• Asher Parkin (U15) - 6th 1500m Finalist
• Zack Newsham (U18) - 1500m 16th place

We also had some recent Old Boys compete:

• Mac Leavy had a great run in the 100m (5th) and 200m (6th) in U20. Final time of 10.86 in 100m a national qualifier and 0.01 out of 3rd place.
• Hamiltyn Burns also just missed out on U20 400m final in a Fast Heat.

The above national qualifiers will now have the opportunity to represent Queensland at the combined National Track and Field Titles and Open Olympic Trials in Sydney in April. 

AFL Wrap Up

Mr Brett Gillett - AFL Coordinator 

The AFL program at MCA continues to improve. We had our best aggregate finish in the three years of AIC AFL with a third behind the very strong St Laurence's and Villanova Colleges, two traditional AFL schools. We have moved from 6th to 3rd in the three years and aim to continue this progression to challenge both of these schools on the AFL field.

We continue to have much student interest in the AFL program, with well over sixty boys trialling for each team, and we were lucky to be given the opportunity to field two Year 7 sides to gives the boys a game of AFL for the season.

We would like to thank Head of Sport, Mr Caplick and Primary Head of Sport, Mr Lambourne, for their support of the AFL program and Strength and Conditioning Coach Mr Price for making an AFL development place for all of our boys in the gym three days per week. Access to the gym has enabled our MCA boys to improve their physical strength, balance and coordination as they were able to challenge the stronger boys in the AIC AFL competition. We look forward to access across the four terms in the future.

Thank you to all the coaches and managers of the AFL program. The majority of the AFL coaches now have level 2 accreditation to ensure the most capable and accredited coaches are coaching your sons.

A special thank you to Mr Johns, Mr Tonkin and Mrs Smith for their efforts with the Friday evening 1st XVIII. There are no “home” games for MCA in AFL. We were scheduled to play each Friday at Coorparoo and Sandgate AFL clubs at 4:45 pm. Leaving at 3:30 pm each Friday did not allow much warm-up or game preparation but this group, assisted with former Brisbane Lion Mr Justin Clarke, were able to improve the boys AFL ability and knowledge each week.

The highlight for the 1st XVIII for the year was a narrow 2 point victory over St Patrick's College in the final game of the year. They battled hard against a skilful St Patrick's College to claim a victory, superior with game strategy. The singing of Sub Tuum by the boys is part of the AFL tradition and culture of singing your club song, and the boys sang with plenty of pride.

Finally, thank you to all the boys who wore the College uniform with great pride throughout the year. We had well over 180 players this year from Years 5-12, plus an internal Year 5/6 comp on Thursdays. The coaching group is excited about the future of AFL at Marist College Ashgrove and look forward to the possible expansion of the year groups for the next season that will enable well over 250 boys to represent the College in the great Australian game of AFL.

Cricket Wrap Up

As Term 1 draws to a close, another Cricket season has finished, and I can proudly say that all cricketers and coaches performed exceptionally well and represented the College with pride. 

The 1st XI enjoyed yet another successful season, finishing 2nd narrowly behind Villanova College. It was an up and down season with a few close losses combined with emphatic wins. An outstanding win against SPC capped off the season after chasing down 195, off the back of Cooper Mackie, who scored a match-defining century in his final cricket match for the College. The boys were well-coached by Mr Tom Gibson, Mr Corey Lucas and Mr Andrew Gode, superbly lead by Mr Jacob Kumuru. I want to thank all coaches, parents and students involved in the 1st XI for an outstanding season. 

At the end of Term 4, 2020, we finalised our teams and yet again saw great numbers and were eager to regain the aggregate and promote our strong cricket reputation. We had 27 teams in the secondary school, coinciding with 11 Primary teams and once again had far more teams than other Colleges in the AIC. Despite the season aggregate not going entirely to plan, I am proud of how each student and team represented the College during Term 1. I want to start by thanking all coaches involved and support throughout the season. The program can’t continue to develop without the hard work from all coaches, and I’m very appreciative that you were able to provide all the boys with an opportunity to forge friendships and memories that will last a lifetime.

We had five AIC Premierships and multiple teams finishing the season undefeated. 

Congratulations to the following teams and coaches below: 

AIC Premierships

• Mr Samuel Priddis and 10C team
• Mr Matt Wilcox and the 9B team
• Mr Emrys Cowley and Mr Ryan Kenny and 9C team
• Mr Nick McPhee and the 7B team
• Mr Damian Nelson and 7C team

Undefeated Seasons

• Mr Samuel Priddis and 10C
• Mr Emrys Cowley and Mr Ryan Kenny and 9C
• Mr Harry Hunter and 9D
• Mr Mick Haris and 8C
• Mr Michael O’Connor and 8D
• Mr Damian Nelson and 7C
• Mr Brendan Nolan and Mr Ben Scherer and 7D
• Mr Ben Roden-Cohen and 7G

Memorable Moments

• 1st XI: Cooper Mackie scored a match-defining century in his final cricket match for the College. Cooper scored 100 of 103 balls against SPC and came in after MCA lost two quick wickets. 
• 2nd XI: Aiden O’Connell’s performance in the last game of the season against SPC. Scoring 40 batting at 8th and bowling 3/24 in such a high-pressure game, was fantastic to watch. 
• 10A: Roman Watt hitting the winning runs late against a tough and separate SPC to seal the teams third and final win of the season.
• 10B: An outstanding team performance by the 10B’s against Villanova winning by two runs, hitting a six off the final few balls.
• 9A: Bowling display against Iona in Round 5, the boys defended 108 in front of a packed McMahon grandstand.
• 9B: Round 5 against Iona, the winner of this game would secure the Premiership and both teams were fired up. Chasing 97 for the victory we were in all sorts of trouble at 6/54 after 19 overs. Jack Riley delivered a timely Captain’s knock hitting 58 off 69 balls to reach the target in the 27th over to secure the premiership.
• 8A: The bowling innings in Round 1 against SLC was sensational in restricting them to 114. While the whole team showed great discipline, one quick exuberated class as he swung the ball away from the right-hander and into the left-hander throughout his six-over spell. Xavier Cheesman led from the front that day and showed the competition he will be a force to be reckoned with. His 3-15 was well deserved and showed a glimpse of what's to come.
• 8B: The 8B’s rolling SEC for 15 runs and game being over in 50 minutes was a dominant display from the entire team.
• 7A: Chasing 138 for victory in Round 6, MCA needed 41 runs off the final 30 balls with only 4 wickets in hand. Matt Stephens then smashed four boundaries in a row to put the equation back in our favour.  We eventually went on to win the game on the final ball of the day. The celebration was one to remember.
• 7B: Jimmy Garden stole the show in Round 3 against SEC after he batted for the entire innings scoring 102 not out. Scoring a century in junior school cricket is an unbelievable achievement, and I would like to congratulate Jimmy on an outstanding knock!

This year we entered our second year for Skill Academy sessions for all A/B players in the senior program to help strengthen the program. These sessions focused on improving areas of Batting, Wicket Keeping, Pace and Spin bowling through skill development activities. I would like to thank Ben Maddox, Micahel Toolis, Corey Lucas and Tom Collier, Andrew Gode and Justin Sternes for your commitment to our Academy sessions throughout Term 4. These sessions were very detailed and saw the continued enjoyment and growth of all our A/B players who attended the sessions.

To all the boys who represented the College throughout Term 1 thank you for wearing your whites with pride and for all the hard work you have put in over the Term. I hope you enjoyed the season, and hopefully, we can continually improve and one day retain the aggregate.

Volleyball Wrap Up

Mr Adam Knight - Volleyball Coordinator

With many athletes and teams across competitive and social programs, 2021 proved to be a roaring success. Volleyball lends itself to develop our boys into young men of substance, and this was fostered in the true Ashgrove-style this year; our teams were competitive yet respectful, hardworking yet jovial, and prioritised the team over the individual.

The 1st VI enjoyed a stellar season, dropping only four sets to go through undefeated. The telling factor about the season was not the result, but how it was achieved. The boys were superbly coached with Connor Rudder, superbly lead by Toby Bergh, Fergal Apps and Joel Perkins, and superbly supported by their parents, community and the other MCA boys. The boys trained hard, worked unselfishly, and ate-up the pressure when it was put upon them. The way they carried themselves on and off-court was the cornerstone of their success, which now cements the team within the great MCA Volleyball teams to have played the game.

With our aggregate results climbing in previous years, 2021 saw us achieve that rare feat that all AIC sport programs aim for – an undefeated 1st VI premiership alongside an aggregate premiership. We have not achieved this since 2004! And all done with the typical Ashgrove spirit – with resilience, respect, dignity and grit. 2020 had our best team placings in approximately 15 years and 2021 went one better, as everyone except three teams finished in the Top 3. We won all seven rounds, and in the aggregate competition achieved four premierships (three undefeated), three second, and two third placings. An amazing achievement! The telling factor in our aggregate premiership was the success of our B teams, who were the clear front-runners in the AIC competition. 2021 was the result of the employment of new coaching methods in the last couple of years, and the hard work and dedication of all coaches produced this result. Congratulations must go to the 1st VI, 2nd VI, 10A, 8B, Open 4th and 10C teams on winning premierships in their respective divisions. Having over 80% of our teams across the entire program (aggregate and non-aggregate) with a podium finish is a feat and speaks volume of the culture that everyone within the MCA Volleyball community contributes to. The internal competition also reflected this, where boys developed key skills, relationships and memories. 

This culture does not happen overnight, and through key individuals; coaches, parents, administrators, support staff and the boys themselves. A huge thank you to Rebecca Bergh and the parents of our 1st VI team for post-match afternoon teas, our Head of Sport Mr Luke Caplick for his unfaltering support, Mr Scott Minogue whose attention to detail and care of the Junior program and the Internal competition gave every boy every opportunity, our coaches, and to the wider MCA community, parents in particular, for supporting our young men both on and off the court. We look forward to 2022!

From the Sports Captains

Tom Pfitzner - 1st XVIII AFL Captain

For the 1st XVIII, 2021 was a successful year. From the first couple of trials at the start of Term 4 to the last round in Term 1, the team's skill and knowledge improved drastically. Two early loses against the top teams, Laurie's and Villa, the boys, could've easily seen the 0-2 start shape our season. However, this was not to be. The boys ended the year with four emphatic wins against a number of strong sides. Ending with a 4-2 record and 3rd place, a premiership in the near future is possible. All team members would agree that a riveting 2-point victory in front of our biggest crowd in the final round against St Pats was the highlight of the year and tipped off a great season.

Toby Bergh (1st VI Volleyball Captain)

The season started off with trials in Term 3 of last year. The boys worked day and night for the six months in the lead up to the 2021 season. With the first game being our hardest against last season’s premiership winners, St Laurance’s, coming away with a strong 3-2 win set the standard for the following six games, dropping only four sets the entire season. The next game laid off the week's pressure before with an easy 3-0 against St Eddies but led us to a game against the second hardest team, with a 3-1 win against Villanova. With arguably two of the hardest teams under our belt, all we had to do was stay strong for the rest of the season, with another 3-0 win against Padua, 3-1 against Iona, 3-0 against St Peter's and a 3-0 win against St Patrick's to end off the historic undefeated, premiership season.

Football

MCA Football – Internal Trial Round – 20 March 2021

Year 5 Skills Clinic

The Year 5 footballers were treated to a skills clinic run by the 1st XI on the internal trial weekend. Not even the rain and soggy conditions could dampen the footballers' enthusiasm, both the Year 5 and the 1st XI, who worked together brilliantly to link our youngest footballers to our most senior. The skills clinic was an opportunity for the Year 5s to showcase their football skills, and it is fair to say our newest footballers have plenty. A massive thanks to the 1st XI Footballers and Mr Andrew King for assisting on the day. The 1st XI Footballers are looking forward to seeing those young footballers on the hill to support this coming season!

MCA Old Boys vs 1st XI

To conclude a massive day of football at Ashgrove, the MCA Old Boys took on the 1st XI in the Inaugural Old Boy match on Cameron Oval. The Old Boys were made up of a wide range of former students who had previously donned the 1st XI Football jersey. After a disappointing loss in 2019, the Old Boys were keen to make amends fielding a very strong side. Old Boys included James Piercy (2016/10A coach), Samson Skinner (2017/10B Coach), and our newest footballing Old Boys, Jackson Barrick, Will Gullo and Zach Kierpal. 

The 1st XI took an early lead with a superb front post header in a highly entertaining match. After that, the Old Boys ventured forward in droves looking for an equaliser which finally paid off when Jackson Barrick hit the back of the net. The game was an arm wrestle throughout but ended with a 6-4 win to the Old Boys. 

A massive thanks to Andrew Girjes, who organised and managed the Old Boys on the day and Old Boy referee Olivier Vlug for taking the whistle for the match. As is the case with the Year 5 footballers, we look forward to welcoming the Old Boys to the hill for AIC season. 

Rugby Union

What an excellent result for all students that could get our rugby trials underway on Saturday! The conditions certainly proved difficult for the younger boys early in the morning, and it was a tough day to be in the backline at times!! Despite the weather, it was absolutely necessary for our boys to play from a safety perspective in preparing them for the upcoming season, and these trials formed a vital part of this preparation. 

The fields are being given time to prepare, and we are very conscious of taking care of the great resources we have, but fields are meant for playing on, and we know the boys are looking forward to getting back out there this weekend.

Selections

There are not many schools where the internal College trials can be the hardest games the boys will play all season, but for some teams at MCA this is definitely true. This also makes the job of selecting teams challenging, and while we do our absolute best to get these right, we do not claim to be perfect. Trials will continue right up until the start of next term, which provides boys with numerous opportunities, and we will continue to monitor all boys as closely as we can, so do ask for patience as we do our best to get it right.

Weather and Training

Undoubtedly it is a difficult week with the wet weather affecting our training and trials. All of our age coordinators and coaches are working on contingency plans for the latter part of the week as finer weather approaches. We will be hoping to have each team have at least one session before the weekend.

UNIFORM!!

BLUE SHORTS are the only acceptable coloured shorts for ALL MCA rugby players. No player is to turn up in different coloured shorts other than the College MCA rugby shorts.

College rugby socks and the College rugby jersey must be worn.

Training this week

Please check the schedule below. We will have a set schedule for Term 2 once all trials are done but this schedule will be the training sessions for the remainder of the week:

**SCHEDULE IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE**

College App – we remind everyone of the need to have the College app on their phones with the notifications enabled to receive rugby updates. We will post a lot of information here so please make sure you are checking this often with the current weather we are experiencing.

Saturday 27 March trials v Padua College

A recent tradition against Colleges such as Padua, SLC and SPC has been to rotate the hosting of a full day of rugby and football fixtures each year. These days are fantastic events for both Colleges involved and bring a great sense of community, not just for our College but also for our AIC competitors. We look forward to hosting Padua this Saturday on trials for the majority of matches and then travelling to Banyo for Round 4 midway through Term 2.

**Important**

While we will try to avoid any changes, there could be some changes to teams playing at Ashgrove so please continue to check the College app this week.

Sport Canteen