Sport News

Mr Derek Lennon, Head of Sport

Round 3 saw our first away fixtures of the season against Iona College, which always proves to be a competitive day of sport through the years, divisions and sports. We thank Iona for their hospitality, sportsmanship and shared commitment to quality sporting experiences. You may not know this but Iona and Marist share a history with us both being Catholic schools of French origin. With this history in mind when we play Iona annually, in addition to the AIC competition points, our firsts teams are competing for the annual Mere de Dieu Cup, which is the aggregate wins and losses across all the premiership sports throughout the year. This year Iona were ahead 2-1 after term 1, winning the volleyball and cricket (our only loss for the season) and we won the AFL. In term 2 we were able to within a game by winning the rugby, drawing the chess, and losing the football. So, it all came down to last Saturday’s competition. We won the tennis and Iona won the basketball. At half-time in the rugby league our 10-6 lead had us in front but we could not hold on and Iona came out in front on the end to win the trophy. This for me is the true essence of schoolboy sport, tough, intense, competitive sport, played in a positive spirit and genuine rivalry and competition. Well done to all our first teams and congratulations to Iona. We will be back again next year bigger and better.

Our hockey team continues its assault on the Brisbane Schoolboys Hockey Competition in 2023 with a strong win against Brisbane Grammar School. This Friday sees our final round robin match against Brisbane State High to confirm our place in the finals. Good luck boys and Ms Kathryn Badini and fellow coaches.

This weekend sees Marist host St Peters Lutheran College in basketball and tennis, with junior teams at Indooroopilly, and rugby league teams having a bye. We look forward to hosting St Peters in what will be another strong challenge for us with SPLC being very strong in both sports. Parents, if you can spare an hour, we could use some more hands in the canteen this weekend.

Congratulations to our open volleyball team who participated in the Queensland Volleyball Schools Cup on the Gold Coast last weekend in the Year 11 Division 1 competition. The boys were outstanding, securing second place in this prestigious tournament, winning the silver medal. Thank you to Mr Adam Knight for his organisation and Ms Scarlett Rudder for coaching the team.

Well done also to our AFL senior team who have progressed to the semi-final of the AFLQ Schools Cup, defeating Varsity College from the Gold Coast 79 to 37. We qualified for this tournament through winning the AIC competition earlier in the year. The boys progress to the semi-finals now. Thank you to Mr Brett Gillett, Mr Michael Travers, Mr Corey Robinson and Mr Andrae Mackay for your coaching and management of this team.

To round out a great week of success we also won the B Division at the Brisbane Regional Chess Invitational, in our first time participating, competing against other AIC and GPS schools amongst others. Well done to the boys and thank you to Mr Dan Bull for organising and supporting the boys.

Volleyball – Queensland Schools Cup

Report by Finn McCahon

From Friday the 4th to Sunday the 6th of August, Marist entered the Senior schools cup tournament, joining 2500+ students from across Queensland to play. After a continuous training effort over Term 2-3 during school hours, requiring tireless commitment from Mr Adam Knight, Ms Scarlett Rudder and boys from years 10-11, we constructed a team worthy of challenging the year 11 Division 1 category, aiming for a spot at gold. This excursion for the 11 boys would test us as a new team and push us to play every point, of every set, in every Game.

On the Friday, the boys journeyed to Coomera sports centre to play a 10am game against Stretton State College, a game where all the boys demonstrated grit and determination in our first team effort. After winning the first set 25-20 with glimpses of talent from Nick Marco, the boys continued to play beautiful volleyball, resulting in a 3-0 win for the first game. Next the boys stayed warm and prepared for a 12:30 game against Cleveland State High, where MCA played a valiant game, only going down by 2 points after a tense first and second sets. Although coming away with a loss, the MCA men took away key learnings and will use this as a guide for future games.

Saturday was the final day of our Pool games where we continued to fight for a chance to advance to the battle for the semifinals. Tackling a 22-degree heat weave in the middle of winter and an early 9:00am start on court, the boys had to be at their best to verse a refined Toowoomba Grammar side. The first set showed the drive of the boys, with some brilliant blocking skills from Owen Dodwell and sharp attacking work from Oscar McVey, helping us to secure a 25-23 first set win. The boys carried similar motion and, with a set under our belt, our bench players shone bright with Rupert Driml putting on a show with his beautiful sets and Louie Di Lucchio spiking the ball with elegance. Marist took the 2-0 win over Toowoomba Grammar with grace.

Following a 2 hour rest, the boys played the top-ranked team in our pool Mountain Creek State High. We needed to win this game to guarantee a spot at the semi-finals. The first set started slow and the boys fought their way through, with special mention to Will Lukin who went back-to-back points against a well-conditioned defence and yet still found a way to put the ball on the ground. After losing the first set, the boys fought valiantly, going point for point, where again Will Lukin showed his worth with many kill blocks and kill balls during the set. The boys kept their composure and didn’t let the pressure phase them, and it really showed through the brilliant receiving efforts of Oliver Betts and some big highlight swings from Josh Lewis. The boys won the 2nd set only to run out of time in the 3rd set, loosing lose the game by just 3 points. As happens in competitions like this, it’s all about the placings to determine who plays in the repechage round and who goes straight through to the finals. At the end of Day 2, Marist placed 2nd in their pool, and were set to face a young Gap State High team, in the first repechage knockout game the next day

Sunday: we had one goal and that was to get on the podium. The team from The Gap State High were ready and hungry, and so were we. Whilst we started slowly in both sets, our solid and consistent performance resulted in a 2-0 win. We had qualified now in the top 4 teams in the division!

Next, we faced Marsden State High School, the best-ranked team in the division, best statistical team and a team that had gone undefeated. Most of the MCA boys had doubts in our ability to get the job done, but no one dropped their heads. The 10:30 am game began with a tough first set loss, showing Marsden’s capability to attack the ball and force errors amongst our defences. The second set showed that, although we weren’t the tallest team or the loudest team, we sure were a force to be reckoned with. Both our middles Nick Marco and Will Lukin put on a show for the crowd whilst Oliver Betts worked our defence and made sure no ball touched the floor. It was a great set, showcasing our ability to bounce back and fight for every last point. Following our 2nd set win, the boys carried the same energy into the 3rd. In doing so, the boys worked hard, grabbing at any lead we could, fighting every point and forcing Marsden to crack under pressure and finally, in one of our most tense sets in the competition, winning the 3rd set, advancing us to the gold medal match.

This was the perfect example of how little wins in a game can build big wins and how by having the desire to win it more, led us to a great win. But the job wasn’t done.

The MCA boys knew the final game for gold wasn’t going to be easy. Villanova College had swept Mountain Creek in a 2-0 win meaning it was a battle of the AIC schools, a game that gathered a supportive crowd (including Mr Knight). The first set wasn’t our best, not starting well putting us on the back foot early but we never stayed out of the fight. After losing the first set 25-15, the boys were more ambitious and fought every point. We showed our talent with countless highlights from Aidan Smythe, who continued to put the ball on their side of the court and Owen Dodwell who challenged Villanova’s 6’5” prodigy and marvellously worked around him. Never giving up, the MCA boys charged back, winning the 2nd set 25-17, a magnificent display of skill and talent amongst the team. Going into the 3rd set, it was point for point, however, Villanova were better on the day, breaking our defence and causing errors in our own game by perfecting their own. Although we lost 15-11 in the final set, the boys are thrilled with Silver Medal placing and couldn’t have asked more from a team with such little training and experience together.

This was our first year entering the Seniors Schools Cup Tournament and the boys have left with their heads up high knowing they left everything back on the court.

I would like to make special mentions firstly to all the parents who travelled back and forth no matter the time, traffic or temperature, they got us all together. Next I’d like to thank all the boys in the team, everyone contributed in their valuable way and helped our team get a second place finishing in the Year 11 Division 1 category respectably.

Finally, I’d like to thank Ms Scarlett Rudder and Mr Adam Knight who prepared us for a brilliant tournament and made every game as enjoyable as the next, regardless of the result. We hope to bring the same performance later in the year and finally get that Gold. See you in Term 4.

Chess

Mr Dan Bull (Chess Coordinator)

On August 1 four of Marist’s best chess players travelled to Anglican Church Grammar School for a full-day chess competition. The Gardner competition is the main chess tournament for schools throughout the Brisbane region and is held a few times a year, gathering a large array of students from both GPS and AIC schools. This was the first time in some years that Marist has fielded a team, but it is something the school sees as a benefit for the Chess program, as the chance to play other students throughout the year will keep our Opens team sharp for the seasons ahead.

Four boys, Luca Martinuzzi, Shawn Simonetti, Alex Apelt and Ben Mead all put in a tremendous effort on the day, beating most of their opponents in Division B. The tournament involved playing seven rounds each, with the team with the most wins coming out on top. We are very happy to say that Marist did very well, defeating all rival schools in the division, to emerge victorious. This was a great achievement for our first tournament at Churchie. Special mention to Shawn who also was awarded 3rd in the individual category in the division.

Internal Touch and Basketball

We started our internal touch and basketball competitions last Saturday here at the college. It was great to see nearly 100 boys across both sports enjoying playing sport, being active and learning new skills. These competitions run over the next four weekends, except for the EKKA weekend. Thank you to Mr Mal Grealy and a host of boarding supers for organizing and managing the touch competition and Mr Stewart Moore and Mr James Walton, along with the student referees, for organizing and managing the basketball competition.

Basketball

Mr John Lambourne - Basketball Coordinator

Marist Basketball – Round 3 vs. Iona College

1st V - Marist 57 – Iona 81

1st V Coach’s Report

Matt Richards – Assistant Coach

Week 3 of the AIC basketball season saw the 1st V challenging Iona College for their first away game of the season. Due to a lacklustre first quarter, the team quickly found themselves in a deficit which would prove to be difficult to come back from.

With starting point guard Matt Gibson out with an injury, Xavier Evans was given the responsibility of ball handling and organising the team’s offence and he performed formidably. Defensively, Iona forced us into taking tough shots for most of the game and did not allow for our trademark fast break to relieve us of our tough shooting streak.

Quarters 2 and 3 saw the same struggles, but slowly, the boys were able to find weak spots within the defence. Jack Forrester and Will Ford discovered that when our shots aren’t falling, going strongly to the basket and drawing fouls would be our main source of points.

Beginning the fourth quarter, the bench entered the game. They brought a newfound energy to the game resulting in Marist outscoring Iona in the final quarter. Jack Riley and Austin Beaman made sure that their minutes would not go unnoticed. However, due to the rough beginning of the game, the team had placed themselves in a position of no return and was unable to bring the game back to a competitive position.

We will take this loss as a lesson and will return to training with a newfound fire to better ourselves over the Ekka break and to prepare for this week’s clash against the AIC favourites, St Peters.

1st V Captain’s Report

Declan Tunny

Round 3 against Iona College was set to be a tough game with injuries keeping a few crucial players out. The team got off to a slow start in the first half of the game finding it difficult to shoot from both the 3-point line and over the tall team in the paint. Alongside this and our lack of getting back on defence, Iona’s lead was quickly extended forcing us into catch-up basketball for the remainder of the game.

Despite the team turning it back on in the second half with a few nice inside shots and layups from Will Ford, our slow start to the game was ultimately the deciding factor with the final score of 81-57. Special mentions must be given to Xavier Evans for stepping up to the duty of starting PG and Jack Forrester for playing the whole game due to Matt Gibson’s injury. As well as this, Jack Riley on debut brought energy to the game in the final quarter, showing a great example to the rest of the team.

This week we have another home game against St. Peters before the EKKA break bye round. It would be great to see as many as you there for what is shaping up to be another great contest against one of the premiership favourites.

R3 vs Iona - Match Reports from the Courts.pdf

Rugby League

Mr Ryan Apps - Rugby League Coordinator

We are now halfway through our AIC Rugby League season with 3 games and 1 trial down we have 3 remaining games versus St Patrick's, St Lawrence's and St Edmund's.

This weekend is a bye round for MCA Rugby League as St Peters does not field Rugby League teams and the following weekend is the AIC sport-free Ekka weekend.

Some teams will hold training sessions over the next 2 weeks and some coaches may decide to let the boys have a break, please keep an eye on the school app and your parental communications.

It is great to see so many of our teams playing hard and developing every training session and game, this all takes time, but all can see how we are building for the future and instilling a strong MCA Rugby League program.

I hope all of our players enjoy the mini-break off and look forward to the next stage of the season.

Hockey

Ms Kathryn Badini - Hockey Coordinator

On Friday afternoon our Hockey boys played Brisbane Grammar School, who are new to the competition this year. This was a must-win game for us and the challenge was greatened as we were missing some of our key playmakers. As always, it took us a little while to build up some goals, but the boys stayed determined and the final result ended up being 3 – nil to us. Special mention to the combined force of Oliver Shinkel (11), Isaac Pratt (11) and Matt Alverez (8) who were each rewarded with a goal, as well as Harry Cunynghame (12) who charged up that field, and Daniel Thirgood (9) who made some impressive stops on the line. If I keep going, I’ll end up naming the entire team. Each player, club or non-club, gave it their all. What’s more, each time a player came off the field and we congratulated them about whatever great thing they had just done, they would go on to compliment another player. I think that says a lot about the kind of boys who are in the Hockey team. It also puts the team in good stead for the Grand Final which is now on the horizon for us.

This week we take on Brisbane State High School at Burringbar Park again. This will be out last fixture game before our EKKA week Bye, and finals happening in Week 7.

Marist Track and Field

Mr Richard Graham – Director of Rugby / Track and Field

Mr Rob Martin – Head Coach, Track and Field

Internal Mini Meet #3

Please note that the final Internal Mini Meet for the season with be held next Monday 14 August. This will replace the meet originally scheduled for Friday 18 August.

The number of students turning up to compete has been outstanding, and it is wonderful to see the improvement being made.

ALL students wishing to compete next Monday are welcome! ... and those students keen on making the various Track and Field teams, please come and record a time or distance. We are flexible and will work with you to see how you are performing.

The event will be held on McMahon Oval and Hayden Oval. The competition will start at 3:30pm and be concluded by 4:45pm. The schedule of events will include –

Track events – 100m / 400m / 800m / 1500m
Field events – High jump / Triple jump
Throw events – Discus / Shot put

Please see the Marist App for the event schedule and note the specific events for Primary and Secondary students.

Internal Mini Meet #2

It was great to see the 80-plus students who turned up to the second Track and Field “Internal Mini Meet” last Friday. The numbers across the jumps, throws and track events were notable, and Head Coach, Mr Rob Martin has been impressed with the significant improvements the squad has made across the first four weeks.

In pursuit of the College’s 9th successive AIC Championship, the afternoon of events included -

100m / 200m / 800m
Shot put, discus and javelin
High jump and long jump

Some notable performances included:

Throws: Declan Blundell and Tex Higginbotham excellent work across the throws. Preparing well for upcoming meets. Ryan Mendez and Aiden O'Reilly hitting some big personal bests in javelin and discus.

Jumps: Connor Campbell (2 PBs) and Lyndon Maynard both jumping well recording improvements in the horizontal jumps.

Sprints: Angus Vogt, Aidan Warbrooke, Tadhg Ryan and Ted Clarke all improving rapidly with each run in the 100m trials.

Middle Distance: Darcy Frazier and Tom Grinham had big season bests in running the 800m

There were many other excellent efforts and too many to list all. Great to see the competition and support as regionals and AIC trial meets approach.

Met North and AIC Meets

The main meets and selection trials will start in Week 7, 21 August. Many of the invitations for Met North Regional Trials have gone out based on early performances. Note that Met North performances are only one measure and with at least four AIC meets at QSAC coming up this term, spots are open as students train and develop across the season.

Priorities (Multi-Sport Athletes)

Several athletes have asked about priorities and as always Mr Graham and Mr Martin are happy to work with students competing in multiple sports to help them meet expectations across their various sporting goals. We are keen to compete and target a 9th successive AIC title and are looking to all of our athletes to contribute against some strong competition in 2023.

Ekka Break Training Schedule

Training during the Ekka Break will continue as normal. Please see the Marist App for all relevant information.

Track and Field Key Dates Calendar

Could I please ask parents and students to look over the Key Dates Calendar in the Marist App? Important to note some of the AIC practice meets and Met North carnival coming up in August, the by invitation Track and Field camp at the start of the September holidays, and the September holiday meets.

More information will be posted on the Marist App at a time closer to each event.

Track and Field Uniform

A reminder that the DRESS CODE for all T&F training sessions is as per the 2023 Track and Field Handbook. MCA sports shirts / Marist T&F singlet, Marist sports shorts, and white or blue socks.For competitive events including Internal Mini Meets, the DRESS CODE is as per the 2023 Track and Field Handbook. Marist T&F singlet, Marist sports shorts, and white or blue socks.It is important we get this right now as we have a mini meet this Friday afternoon here at the College, and we will be competing in the AIC Championship AS A TEAM wearing this uniform.

Track and Field Handbook

Please see the Marist App for the 2023 Track and Field Handbook. The Handbook includes the relevant Track and Field information for students and parents/guardians. If you have any further questions, please contact Mr Richard Graham.

Tennis

Mr Andrew Ward - Director of Tennis

A quick reminder that there is no coaching in the afternoons and only coaching in the morning on Monday and Tuesday of next week. The remainder of the week is holiday time from Wednesday onwards. There will be a session on Thursday afternoon from 3:00-5:00pm for all AIC players if you are not away.

Please let us know in advance for staffing of your attendance if wishing to participate. This session is free.

Marist Open Singles Championships

This year’s event will be played on two consecutive afternoons next Monday and Tuesday the 14th and 15th August.

We will be providing a sausage sizzle for all players entered in the event both days.

I am expecting all players from the opens and Year 10 to play and any Year 9, 8 or 7 students to enter the event. We will also be holding a lucky loser draw so we can get all students as many matches as possible. Yes, there is only one winner, but it is the number of people playing that makes it an event. Imagine if the Pros looked at the draw and saw Djokovic or Nadal in the draw and said there is no point playing. We need as many people playing as we can get to make this a memorable tournament for all players.

Primary Tennis Tournaments

These will be held on the 11th of September for the singles and the 12th of September for the Doubles. Both will be completed the same day after school 3:30 pm - Finish ( 7:30pm ) the latest. We will provide a sausage sizzle both days for all entrants.

For all entries to all tournaments please email me at : mcatennis@marash.qld.edu.au

Ladie's Tennis 2024

We are wanting to start tennis for ladies or gentlemen who would like to play during the daytime when our courts are laying idle.

We are looking to introduce the following:

Beginners - Learn the art of playing tennis with other players of similar standard.

Intermediate/Advanced – Work on your game with an emphasis on court awareness and tactical play.

Cardio Workout – For those who are bored with the gym or want to be pushed on court and having fun whilst enjoying your workout time.

All sessions we are wanting to do a 1 hour coaching session followed by match play with morning tea served at the completion for all to enjoy.

I would love for as many people, to give us some feedback on how best we can cater for all. Can you please help us by answering a few questions on our survey. Thanking everyone in advance.

https://forms.office.com/r/9FhDrVvCRS

AIC Results for Round 3 v Iona

As we approach the halfway point of the season, we were now ready to play against our friends at Iona College.

After seeing the results from the weekend, I have noticed that Iona has become stronger in many of their year levels and was not going to be dominated like the previous year.

Starting with our year 10 teams who both lost close matches being 4-4 in matches and losing on the countback of games.

Some notable matches to mention were the way our top 3 in singles for the A team all defeated their opponents in terrific, entertaining matches.

In the B team a mention to Max Davis for outlasting his opponent in the longest match of the season so far winning 7-5 in a thriller. Well done.

Our year 9A team losing in a tight match 3-5 with the B team winning 7-1. Well done boys.

Our year 8 team winning well with the A team 5-3 winners over a very improved Iona side. Our B team winning 8-0. Well done lads.

Our year 7 A team losing a close one 3-5 but our B team winning 6-2

Primary Tennis Results

Were a clean sweep in year 6 teams with the A team winning on countback on games and the B team winning 8-0.

Our Year 5a team not so well losing 3-5 and our 5B team losing 2-6 but were close loses.

I would like to say to this team that if you focused more at training instead of mucking around you will start to win these close matches.

Open Tennis Results

We knew going to Iona to take on the past two year’s champions we were going to have to produce something special if we wanted to beat them and keep our unbeaten run alive.

Our 2nd, 3rd and 4th IV teams were exceptional in their matches all winning tight matches but showed their continued approach to hard work when training and the results paid off with victories. Excellent work gentlemen and was great to watch you play and proud of the way you all handled yourselves.

Our 1st team started the day with our doubles matches with both teams having chances to pull away. Henry and Hamish were taking it to the highly fancied opponents but going down 1-6 in a match I think both learned a lot from it. Eddie and Fletcher also in a struggle with the second pair pushing our team but great effort to win 7-5.

One match all here we go to the singles to the disappointment of Iona who wanted to play all the doubles first. Our singles were entertaining with Henry and Eddie going out to play against the big guns of Iona. Henry played exceptionally well but eventually losing in straight sets winning a few games against the No 1 player. Eddie was in a fight and took it to the No 2 player and had 4 sets points at 6-5 in the first set to unluckily lose 6-7 in a tie break in which he was clearly the better player. Unfortunately losing in straight sets but not disgraced and was good to see Eddie believing he can match it with no matter who he plays each week.

1-3 down in matches and 17 games behind it was on to the remaining two singles matches. Hamish completely dominated the match to win in straight sets but was most pleasing for me was the way he hung in points and did not try to blast him off the courts each point.

Fletcher could not have played a more inspiring first set of tennis attacking and dominating his opponent. During the second set he did lose his way a little but to his credit found the points when needed and won a close second set to win out in straight sets. Well done to the both of you.

3-3 matches all and back to one game behind was a credit to how these boys have trained to want to be a part of the team. With a quick talk before the doubles, I told the boys that this is your time go out and win it if you want to win it. These boys will not hand it to you.

That is exactly what they did , they took to their much-fancied opponents with Eddie and Fletcher 3-1 up and Henry and Hamish up 3-0 I started to think that maybe this could be the day we upset the favorites. Henry and Hamish running away with their match 6-1 and we new from there we could not lose with Eddie and Fletcher losing 6-3.

What does this mean, Marist wins by 1 game at 54-53 on countback being at 4-4 matches and 6-6 in sets with these boys pulling off something amazing.

This is the first time we have beaten Iona for a long time, and I can see a very young team getting better and better each year as we push to win a premiership in the 1st IV division. Our boys are not using the excuse of losing our No 1 player to a training injury but instead getting on with business as all want to represent the school. Keep believing boys as you can achieve anything if you believe.

MVP for the day voted by the team was Hamish Davidson and rightfully deserved. I am proud in how you boys have adopted different coaching styles to make yourselves better players which is a huge credit to you.

Student Achievement

Adrian Garbellini – Orienteering

On the weekend of 22-23 July Adrian Garbellini participated in the Queensland Schools Orienteering Championships. Over 100 students from all around Queensland took part in three events: a Sprint Distance event at Miles SHS, and two bush events at Gurulmundi State Forest. Adrian placed 1st in both the Hagaby and Long-distance events in the highly competitive Junior Boys age class. Well done Adrian!

Orienteering is a competitive international sport that combines racing with navigation. Participants use very detailed maps to select routes and navigate through diverse and often unfamiliar terrain in the fastest time. Adrian has been selected as a member of the Junior Boys contingent of the Queensland Schools Orienteering Team.