SPORT NEWS

INTERMEDIATE GIRLS SMR HOCKEY FINALS

Coming off strong form in Years 7 and 8, the Intermediate Girls Hockey team returned to their winning ways at the SMR Hockey Finals at Hawthorn Hockey Club on Thursday 29 October.

A strong team performance saw the team defeat all opponents convincingly. Special mentions go to the leadership of Ella Graham and Luna Dunlop, who both performed excellently across the day, and Isabelle Hogarth-Scott who kept a clean sheet in goals.

The team will play at the State Finals on Wednesday 11 November.

Caitlin Arneil

Coach

YEAR 8 BOYS BASKETBALL 

After becoming district champions in term 3, the Year 8 Boys Basketball team headed to Dandenong Basketball Stadium on Wednesday 28 October to compete in SMR Finals. The boys started well with a close win over Clyde SC 29-26. This was followed by a narrow loss to Port Melbourne SC and a loss to Berwick SC, marking the end of the Year 8 Boys Basketball campaign for the year.

Despite not progressing through to the next stage, the team can hold their heads high. Throughout the day, the Year 8 boys played with tremendous sportsmanship, skill, teamwork, and enjoyment. 

Well done to Taylor Woodford, Jake Reiner, Zachy Bude, Ben Hoshun, Leo Johnson, Emile Johnson, Flynn Walker, Jai Kumar and Lion Wissmann, who were all outstanding on the day. Special mention also to Nick Wilkins, who was absent on the day but a big part of the team's success at the divisional level.

Liam Taffe

Coach

YEAR 8 GIRLS CRICKET

The Year 8 Girls Cricket team performed exceptionally well, remaining undefeated until their final game against a strong opposition featuring state-level players. In a closely contested match to determine second and third place, the girls narrowly lost by just three runs.

The team demonstrated outstanding bowling in their final game, taking seven wickets. Special congratulations to Abby Bennett, Ayda Savran and Aahana Vora for their exceptional bowling performances.

Well done to all players for their teamwork, determination and sportsmanship throughout the day!

Caitlin Hemphill

Coach

YEAR 8 BOYS CRICKET 

On Thursday 5 November, the Year 8 Boys Cricket team headed to Aspendale Gardens Sports Reserve to compete in the SMR finals. 

The semi-final against Dromana went down to the wire. We bowled first to a formidable Dromana opening lineup. Reid Johnson, Kartik Bamal and Rohan Praveen Gowda stemmed the flow with some important line and length bowling. Felix Nutting and Aarav Vinothkumar also contributed significantly to getting some important wickets and slowing the run rate down. With 96 required to win, Manan Thadani and Neal Guliya chased down the total with the bat almost entirely on their own - an incredible achievement that saw us playing in the final against Cranbourne East SC.

Bowling first again in the final, the stage was set for a close finish, as both teams looked very evenly matched. Pratham Gupta took 2 crucial wickets, while Duncan Wilson maintained tidy wicket keeping all day long. With some excellent catches and fielding from Cooper Watts and Ethan Jowett, the boys managed to keep Cranbourne to 130 runs and take 8 wickets. The task was set with the bat. 

Our openers continued their great form into the day; however Cranbourne East took a couple of important wickets, and suddenly we needed a hero with 30 runs required off 5 overs. Enter Vince Shah, who inspirationally lifted his team with some huge boundaries. With 1 ball to go, the scores were level, and Mason Lynch was on strike. Mason, showing a cool head and impressive maturity, played a nice cover drive and ran a quick single to win the game. An incredible finish to a fantastic game. The Year 8 Boys Cricket team are through to State!

A true team effort. Congratulations boys!

Liam Taffe

Coach

YEAR 8 BOYS AND GIRLS TABLE TENNIS

The McKinnon Year 8 boys performed very strongly, taking out first place at the regional Table Tennis finals, dropping only 1 match throughout the day which is a testament to the talent and competitive nature of our students. 

The McKinnon Year 8 girls, similar to the boys, were unstoppable, also taking out first place for the day. All students were fiercely competitive whilst conducting themselves respectfully and in great spirit. 

Nick Scott

Coach

YEAR 7 GIRLS SMR HOCKEY FINALS

The Year 7 Girls Hockey team played their first games for the year at the SMR Hockey Finals at Hawthorn Hockey Club on Tuesday 27 October.

Led by Annabelle Wilson, Elsie Maclennan and Louein Buisman, the team had a successful day, learning the rules of hockey and sailing past all opponents with ease. Special mentions go to frequent goal scorer Mehar Dagar and late call up goalkeeper Bella Garner who only let in one goal across the whole day.

The team will play at the State Finals on Wednesday 18 November.

Caitlin Arneil

Coach