Herald Sun Shield Success

Herald Sun Shield Success
Report by Andrew Forrest, Lachlan Collard, Zachary Chondros

On Tuesday, 26 August, the Intermediate A Team had the privilege of participating in the Herald Sun Shield competition as representatives of the AGSV.

An early morning start saw us on the bus together at 7:45am, arriving in Altona for the day’s games. Our first match was against Covenant College. The conditions were tricky, with heavy winds favouring one end of the ground, making it a challenge for all teams throughout the day. We finished our opening game with a 69–0 win - a fantastic start.

Straight away, we faced St Ignatius College. This game was played on a much smaller ground, which, combined with the wind, made things very difficult. After a hard-fought contest, we came away with a 46–16 win.

Our third match was against Emmaus College. Knowing that a win here would take us into the finals undefeated, we lifted again and secured a comfortable 34–8 victory, giving us great momentum heading into the finals.

After some downtime and keeping our energy high, we faced our first final against Beaconhills College, a team from Pool B, so we weren’t sure what to expect. With the wind still a major factor, clean possession was difficult, but we managed well and ran out 55–7 winners, advancing to the grand final.

In the final, we once again came up against St Ignatius College, a tough and well-rounded team. With the wind blowing harder than it had all day, we knew it was going to be a battle. Kicking into the breeze in the first half, we went into halftime trailing 1–10, but we knew we had kept ourselves in the game, as they had only managed one goal with the strong wind behind them.

In the second half, we fought hard, kicking two goals to edge in front. There were some nervous moments late, but when the siren sounded, we had held on. We were premiers.

After an outstanding five-game series, Lachie Collard was presented with the Old Boys Award, while Oliver Flanagan was awarded the Best on Ground Medal for his terrific grand final performance.

Finally, we were presented with our medals and the Herald Sun Shield, celebrating with teammates, coaches, and family members who came to support us.

A big thank you to Mr Bosio and Miss Girolami for coaching and supporting us throughout the year.