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dompost.co.nz
THE DOMINION POST WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 21, 2013
COLLEGE SPORT
with Tim Barton
email: [email protected]
(04) 474 0123
Year 13 girls hop on last train to title
FOOTBALL
THE appeal of being gracious
losers is starting to wane for the
Wellington Girls’ College first XI.
Wellington Girls’ will contest
their sixth premier one final in
eight years tonight, and their third
in the past four years.
Yet all they have to show for
their endeavours over that period
has been a solitary title, in 2008.
They will be opposed tonight by
their regular nemesis, Wellington
East, who have won eight premier
one titles in the past 10 years.
East were invincible for some
of that time, winning three successive national titles and going
unbeaten in Wellington for four
successive seasons, from 2004.
They have continued to be a
force but Wellington Girls’ have
been the top qualifiers in the division in four of the last five
seasons.
Wellington Girls’ won the 2008
final but were beaten on penalties
in the semifinals in 2009, lost 1-0 to
East the following year and were
beaten in the semifinals in 2011.
They were the top qualifiers
last year and reached another final with a 3-0 semifinal win over
East but went down 3-2 to Marsden
in a pulsating final.
It was a result that still rankles
with Wellington Girls’ skipper
Grace Surridge.
‘‘I don’t want to remember that
[last year’s final],’’ she said this
week, ‘‘It was horrible.’’
Surridge, who has had five
years in the Wellington Girls’ first
XI, will be playing in her third final and is determined to avoid finishing her school career with
another defeat.
The final will be an especially
big game for the four year 13
players – Surridge, Megan Robertson, Charlie Palmer and Thamsyn
Newton – in the Wellington Girls’
squad.
Surridge, Robertson and Palmer have all had at least four years
in the team while the multitalented Newton has slotted in as
goalkeeper in her first season of
football.
‘‘This will be be our biggest
game of the year,’’ Surridge said.
‘‘We always have good games
IT IS a scenario that Wellington
College and Silverstream have
already been through this winter.
The two schools meet in a
premier one final, with one team
unbeaten in the local competition
and the other trying to reverse the
round-robin results.
Silverstream were unbeaten going into the rugby final, then lost
the game that mattered, but the
roles will be reversed in the premier youth football final tonight.
Wellington College, who have
NETBALL
Two finals
for St Oran’s
The St Oran’s senior netball side will
take part in two finals in the space of
three days this weekend. St Oran’s will
meet Upper Hutt College in the final of
the Hutt Valley schools competition at
1pm on Saturday, at the Walter Nash
Stadium, and meet Newlands College
in the regional division one final at the
ASB Centre at 7.30pm on Monday. St
Oran’s were the top qualifiers in the
regional competition, with six wins and
a draw from seven games.
RUGBY
Top qualifiers
Wairarapa College will be favoured to
win the premier two rugby final
against Hutt Valley High School on
Saturday. Wairarapa were the top
qualifiers and confirmed a final spot
when beating Aotea College 29-10 in
their semifinal last weekend. Hutt
Valley had a 27-5 semifinal win over St
Bernard’s but will need a form reserval
from a fortnight ago when Wairarapa
beat them 40-0.
Girls squad
Final chance: The four year 13 players in the Wellington Girls’ College first XI, from left, Thamsyn Newton, Charlie Palmer, Grace Surridge and Megan Robertson, hope to cap their
Photo: KEVIN STENT/FAIRFAX NZ
school careers in the premier one final tonight.
FOOTBALL FINALS
Today, Petone Memorial artificial
6pm Wellington Girls’ College v
Wellington East
7.30pm Wellington College v St
Pat’s Silverstream
against East and we really want
the win in our last year.
‘‘We want to leave the girls
with something to aim at again
next year. It’s so exciting.’’
However, both Surridge and
New Zealand age-group representative Robertson have had to be
nursed through injury problems
this winter.
Surridge has been battling a
muscle injury though she is in no
danger of missing tonight’s game.
‘‘I will definitely play but it might
dictate how long I stay on for. Last
Wednesday [in the semifinal
against Wellington High] was my
first full game in a while.’’
Robertson and Surridge have
key roles for Wellington Girls’ in
midfield.
Wellington Girls’, who beat
Wellington High 4-0 in their semifinal, had five wins and a draw in
their seven round robin games,
scoring 24 goals and conceding
just four.
Their one defeat was a 3-2 loss
against East, on the Wellington
Girls’ field and the team will be
better suited by the artificial turf
tonight.
‘‘The style we play is definitely
suited to an artificial,’’ coach
Anna Wittmann-Wenzel said.
‘‘We like to do a lot of one-two
passing. I know that we are capable of winning [the final] but we
will need to play to our best.
‘‘It’s not in the bag. East are a
strong side and really physical.’’
Wellington Girls’ have experience on their side, with Surridge,
Robertson, Palmer, Sam Kendrick
and Sarah Alder all in the squad
for the 2010 final, while skipper
Jamie Middleton is the only East
player who was also in the 2010
squad.
In addition, eight of the Wellington squad – Surridge, Robertson, Palmer, Kendrick, Alder,
Olivia de Ronde, Tara Elmes and
Antonia Marchesse – are playing
in the central league.
Alder has been the dominant
goal scorer in premier one, with
13, five more than East striker
Phoebe Edwards.
Alder scored both goals when
WGC beat Sacred Heart 2-0 this
month and also scored twice in the
semifinal.
‘‘She has been outstanding on
her left foot,’’ Wittmann-Wenzel
said.
‘‘She has developed a whole lot
from last year.’’
Alder, a year 12, has been in the
WGC team since year 9.
‘‘I think this is our year to get
the win,’’ she said.
‘‘The whole team is such a good
bunch and we work really well
together.’’
East earned their final place
with a 1-0 win over Sacred Heart,
who had finished second on the
table.
‘‘We probably go in as underdogs but we have had a win and
loss against Wellington Girls’ in
our two games this year,’’ East
coach Kirk McPherson said.
Middleton, who plays central
league for Seatoun, is a key player
for East in centre midfield while
Edwards, who also excels as a
track athlete, is a proven goal
scorer.
Goalkeeper Hannah Tunley is
another who has made a mark.
‘‘Hannah pulled off some good
saves last week,’’ McPherson said.
Although McPherson is hoping
that Surridge, Palmer and
Wittmann-Wenzel won’t be celebrating a win tonight, it will be a
different matter at the weekend.
The trio are in the Seatoun side
coached by McPherson which will
contest the semifinal of the national women’s Knockout Cup,
against Coastal Spirit in Christchurch on Saturday.
Roles reversed for Wellington College and Silverstream
FOOTBALL
IN BRIEF
had eight wins and two draws
from their 10 games in the local
competition, face a Silverstream
side that recorded just four wins
and a draw, and has already lost
three times to Wellington College.
Wellington beat Silverstream
2-0 and 3-2 in their two roundrobin clashes and won the
traditional match 2-1.
However, Wellington coach
Ross Durant knows the folly of
assuming that the final will follow
the same pattern.
‘‘I’m not going to deny that we
are the favourites but this is finals
football and you can throw the
form book out the window,’’
Durant said.
‘‘We are also up against a team
that seems to be growing.
‘‘We really want to play some
nice football but the result might
come down to who doesn’t make
mistakes on the night.
‘‘We’ve got everything to lose
and the rugby boys probably
didn’t do us any favours [by beating Silverstream].’’
Two recent defeats in traditional matches will have also reduced the possibility of Wellington
taking the final outcome for
granted.
Wellington lost 1-0 to New Plymouth Boys, before a 3-1 loss
against Palmerston North Boys’
last week.
Wellington have had a good defensive record in the premier
grade, conceding just eight goals
while scoring 23, but did not maintain the same standard against
Palmerston North.
‘‘The first part of the [winning]
equation is to stop the opposition
scoring and that’s something we
pride ourselves on,’’ Durant said.
‘‘But we gave up a couple of sloppy
goals against Palmerston.’’
Wellington goalkeeper Charlie
Morris was a non-travelling reserve for the New Zealand secondary schools team this year and
Christian Gray, a centre back of
high promise, is another key
defender.
New Zealand schools player
Daniel Bowkett will play a major
role for Wellington in midfield
while Angus Kilkolly, Jaga ScottGreenfield and Alex Adams are
among the attacking weapons.
Silverstream see the final as an
opportunity to end a season that
began slowly on a high.
‘‘They are really looking forward to the chance to get that win
over the best team in Wellington,’’
Silverstream manager Peter Hicks
said.
‘‘I’ve never seen a bad Wellington College side and they have
some decent players.’’
Silverstream are led by Cory
Van de Coolwijk who is one of six
year 13 players in the squad, the
others being Jeremy Barr, Harry
Kerr, Lachlan Watson, Shaquille
Stirling and Keelan McEvoy.
Twenty-five players have been named
in a Wellington secondary schools’
girls rugby squad, which will play
against Horowhenua-Kapiti and
Manawatu. They are: Lasina Obeda,
Eve Siania, Jasmine Upton (Aotea
College); Chayna Va (Bishop Viard);
Rosie Stirling (Hutt Valley); Lalofutu
Tanu, Savannah Peniata, Tuna Loelu,
Diana Oloapu (Naenae College); Tina
Paulo, Camilla Time-Tautua (Porirua
College); Anna Uvea, Rachel
Peleseuma, Angel Uila (Sacred Heart);
Joanah Ngan-Woo, Rachel Tuma’ai,
Tina Va’aua-Hamlin, Anna-Maria Afui
(St Catherine’s); Ezra Taulamana (St
Mary’s); Shaine Tuia’alili Moreli
(Taita); Bailey Coburn (Tawa);
Chanelle Kohika (Wainuiomata); Tyler
Birch, Georgia Broughton, Rosalina
Taituave (Wellington East).
YACHTING
British title
Scots College year 10 pupil Henry
Gibbs and his Marlborough teammate, Taylor Burn, won the Great
Britain 420 class championships in
Wales last week. Gibbs and Burn
finished 13th in the world champs last
month and are now competing in the
European junior championships.
ATHLETICS
Road race
Marcus Karamanolis (St Pat’s Town)
edged out Jake Tennent (Rongotai) in
the under-18 division at the Wellington
road race championships at the
weekend. Karamanolis beat Tennent
by 3 seconds with a gap to thirdplaced Callum Stewart (Scots).
FOOTBALL
Malaysia trip
Midfielder Jarrod Stant (Kapiti
College) has been picked for the New
Zealand secondary schools’ under-15
side to play in Malaysia next month.
Jonty Bilderbeck (St Pat’s Silverstream) is a non-travelling reserve.
Brothers front up to Wellington challenge
RUGBY
Got it: Francis
Douglas No 8 Blake
Barrett, a brother
of All Black
Beauden Barrett,
shows his lineout
skills.
Photo: FAIRFAX NZ
WELLINGTON COLLEGE will be
up against a band of brothers this
weekend.
The Wellington College first XV
travel to New Plymouth to meet
Francis Douglas Memorial College
on Saturday, in a Hurricanes
schools semifinal.
Francis Douglas, who have won
their last 19 games, have two sets
of brothers in their squad.
Blake and Jordie Barrett, the
last two boys in a family of outstanding rugby players, are joined
by Liam and Daniel Bernet.
Blake Barrett, a year 13, plays
at No 8 while younger brother
Jordie plays at second five-eighth.
Jordie has the daunting task of
trying to live up to the rugby
standards set by his older brothers
– Kane, Beauden, Scott and Blake.
Lock Kane, who captains Tara-
naki, plays for the Auckland
Blues, first five-eighth Beauden is
an All Black and lock Scott was a
New Zealand under-20 representative this year.
Blake is in his third year in the
Francis Douglas first XV and has
twice been a Hurricanes schools
triallist.
‘‘Blake is not particularly big
but he makes up for any lack of
size with a good rugby brain,’’
Francis Douglas coach Tim Stuck
said. ‘‘He’s a very intelligent
player. Jordie is a good footballer
and has really come on this year.
He’s a very tall boy and was quite
gangly for a while.’’
Jordie, a year 12, does not confine his sporting talent to rugby.
‘‘He’s a good cricketer and an outstanding golfer,’’ Stuck said.
Daniel, the older of the Bernet
brothers, plays on the wing and
has been the school’s leading try
scorer this year, while Liam plays
at hooker. Both brothers scored in
the win against Palmerston North
Boys’ last week.
Francis Douglas, who rarely
meet Wellington College on the
rugby field, have had an impressive year.
The team has lost just once
from 23 games and has not been
beaten since going down 18-6 to
Auckland’s De La Salle College in
a pre-season game, when below
full strength.
They were the dominant team
in the Central North Island
schools competition, capping an
unbeaten run when defeating
Hamilton’s St Paul’s Collegiate
25-21 in the final last weekend.
Francis Douglas scored more
than 100 points against Hato Paora
College and St John’s College but
have also been able to win tight
games against Lindisfarne, Palm-
erston North, Feilding High
School and twice against St Paul’s.
They have beaten Palmerston
North twice this year, defeated
New Plymouth Boys’ High 24-10
and beaten St Pat’s Town 28-13.
‘‘We aren’t a big team, in fact
we are small, but they are certainly a team that has gelled,’’
Stuck said. ‘‘We have some pretty
talented boys and they have learnt
how to win. There have been a
number of wins where they have
come back from the dead and that
has given them the confidence and
the belief that they can win any
game.’’
Other key players for Francis
Douglas include skipper and prop
Cameron Keech, who was a Hurricanes schools triallist and halfback Logan Crowley, from another
prominent Taranaki rugby family,
who made the Hurricanes under18 side.
However, Francis Douglas have
had a tough schedule – the game
against St Paul’s was the team’s
third in nine days – and both
Crowley and Jordie Barrett were
heading to the physio table early
this week.
Wellington College will have
the size advantage and the 22
players who delivered the local
premier one title are available for
selection. The team would also
have benefited from a weekend off.
‘‘It was important for the boys
to get a freshen-up and refocus,’’
coach Lincoln Rawles said. ‘‘The
team has been tracking really well
over the last few weeks and it’s all
systems go.’’
Wellington have lost just one
game since May and a win on
Saturday would put them into the
Hurricanes final a week later,
against either Napier Boys’ or Gisborne Boys’.