On the Friday, 21st June, all our Year 5 and 6 students travelled to Matthews Netball Centre and Wembley Sports Complex in Jolimont to contest the annual Winter Lightning Carnival.
Before a wrap up of the day, a special thanks must go to the following people:
- Mrs Willesee and Mrs Riolo for coaching the Netball Teams
- Mr Elliss for coaching the AFL team
- Mr Bovell and Mr Sullivan for taking an AFL and a Soccer Team
- Miss Matrenza for helping out with the Netball
- All of the parents and spectators who came down to watch.
Overall, there were some strong results in all three sports.
In AFL, our St Dominic’s Team 1, led by Jimmy ‘The Kid’ and Mason ‘Buckets’ were able to produce six wins for the day, which put them in 3rd place overall. Coach Elliss was pleased with their performance and even threw in a few old footy cliches in his press conference after the game. “Look, full credit to the boys. They just took it one game at a time and played a good brand of footy that stood up against some of the better teams. Unfortunately, our structures broke down, but we’ll train the house down in pre-season and come back stronger next year”. At the end of the tournament, Dockers star Nat Fyfe came for a visit, however, rumour has it that the real star of the show for AFL Team 1 was Anton, who averaged 30 touches and a goal per game.
Over at AFL Team 2, the day was all about development and blooding youth for next year’s tournament. With some high draft picks, the team played well with a win and a draw. Coach Bovell said he was happy to get some game time into the young kids, with his sacrificial approach at looking at the bigger picture highly commendable by those higher up at St Dominic’s.
Our Soccer Team, well led by Tom C, notched up 2 wins for the day. They were able to match it with the best teams at times, with their defensive mindset to be applauded. Coach Sullivan now must work on turning defence into attack in order to be a force in 2022. A particular highlight were some of Caiden’s volley goals. Some scouts from PSV Eindhoven were on hand to see these, and mentioned that he might be up for higher honours in the future.
Across the road at Matthews Netball Centre, our Division A and B girls put in some great performances throughout the day. Despite having to play on Saturday as well, the Division A team put it all on the line to finish in 3rd place. Some significant heat was placed onto PE Teacher Mr Paljetak after the carnival, with his lacklustre Netball knowledge to blame for not finishing first.
Similar to our AFL Team 2, our Division B Netball Team were all about gaining valuable experience this year. With a few Netball first timers, the team played with spirit and courage, and will only be better for the run. They will gain priority picks and will come back next year as the warm favourites.
Some photos of the day are below.
Winter Carnival Photos
Alex Paljetak
Assistant Principal/ Physed Teacher
Also, a big thanks to Mr Paljetak who coordinated this years Interschool Winter Sports competition for our region. Not a simple task but one that he took in his stride. Thanks, Alex!
As Alex, mentioned above, thank you also to all of our parent helpers, you certainly helped to make it a great day for the kids.
Finally, congratulations to all of our Year 5 and 6 competitors on such a fantastic achievement. We couldn’t have asked for a better day weather wise, we were certainly blessed on that front.
Leon Bolding
Principal