Day 5 & 6 - Tour Match v Camberwell Grammar

The second last day of the tour gave the students the opportunity to either go shopping at the Victoria Markets or play computer games at the ACMI in the morning. We were then driven to our final tour fixture against Camberwell Grammar. Although the players were by now running on empty and/or carrying niggly injuries they still managed to record a clean sweep with all three teams claiming victories. We were then all treated to some wise words and an incredible music performance by our coach driver Justin.

After four intense days of playing football, it was great for the students to then become spectators as we went to AAMI Park to watch the Melbourne City v Adelaide Reds fixture. The home team were also spectators as the Reds made them look ordinary, recording an easy 0-2 victory to claim top position on the ladder (at least until the Roar beat Victory tonight J). The game was almost as entertaining as seeing Salvo losing his head at the below-par performance of the City team, with some especially strong words directed at the keeper Sorensen. It's a good thing that he couldn't understand Italian!

The final day of the tour saw a visit to Melbourne Museum and then Lygon St for an authentic Italian food experience. Coffee, pizza, focaccia and gelato – what more could you want.

The tour was a great success and it will be great to see how the players perform over the upcoming QGSSSA and AIC seasons.

Open Girls v Camberwell Grammar

Yesterday the girls played a great last game against a club called Ashburton. 

In this match the girls set out to play with fun but stay focused and competitive. Girls were able to play in different positions with both Skye and Alyssa standing in for Jessica who scored a fabulous goal in the first half.

Throughout the week Ivor's focus was to teach the girls how to keep some relevant and basic football strategies of keeping their shape, taking a good first touch and staying goal side in defence. All these things were achieved and evident in the final game. The girls have gained some great experience and knowledge from Ivor's coaching.

It all bodes well for the season ahead. 

Mrs Schreiber

Development Squad v Camberwell Grammar

What a way to end a superb tour! Our fourth and final game saw us travel out to Hislop Reserve to play Camberwell College in what would be a most dominant performance by the Saints.

In the first half, the Saints kept possession of the ball and looked to consistently switch the play to move CC's defence out of position. We created numerous chances, however, none of them were piercing the back of CC's net. CC looked to counter attack when we lost possession but some brilliant collective pressing was seen by the Saints to win the ball back as quickly as possible. It wasn't until the 20th minute, where some brilliant lead up play down the left wing by Ethan resulted in a low and hard cross being delivered into the box. The keeper managed to save the initial attempt, however, Mac was on hand to tap the ball into the back of the net making the score 1-0 to the Saints. That's how the score would end for the half with the Saints going into the break with a 1-0 advantage.

The next half saw us take total dominance of the game. 4 goals were scored in the second half. Mac and Charlie both played exceptionally well, both bagging braces (2 goals each), and Emil popped up on the score sheet, much to his delight by making a mazy run from right back and ended up slotting it into the back of CC's net making the final score 5-0.

It was much to my delight to see the gents playing a proactive and possession based style of football. I believe this has been a very positive tour in terms of setting a solid foundation for us to build our team model on once we arrive back in Brisbane tomorrow and look to play our first trial game against BBC next weekend. Bring on the season ahead! Let's go Saints!

Mr Leong

1sts v Camberwell College

The saints first XI boys kitted up and were looking forward to finishing the extremely successful tour on a high. 

From the outset it was evident that the saints boys possessed both the greater technical ability, and the greater footballing awareness, that would allow us to dominate the game. Within the opening 15 minutes, the boys camped in the opposition half, keeping possession well, and getting many great shots on target. The scoring was opened by George Cummins after a silky through ball from Charlie Cunningham. Shortly after, George pounced again; this time with a lethal, left-footed volley from outside the box. George appeared to be a man on a mission, because he again scored quickly after, this time with a cooly placed shot into the corner. 3-0 saints, 20 minutes into the second half. 

Despite the quick 3 goals the opposition appeared to still have a competitive drive in them, and to their credit still forced the saints boys to work. However, the saints boys maintained their dominance going into half time with a scoreline of 3-0. 

Coming out from the break, a different line up saw the introduction of Nathan Boreland, Jack Thompson, Nathan Teale, Hunter Bland, Khoi Pham-Sultan and Adam Coleman in goals. In addition Chris Meyer stepped into the back line for the first time ever - an experiment that required a GPS for the lost midfielder. 

A credit to all the boys in the second half, as we continued to dominate the opposition in all aspects. Goals from Tim Kraft (1) and a stand out second half from Jack Thompson (5) saw an extremely convincing 9-0 performance from the saints boys. 

A brilliant finish to the tour, and a great way to set us up for the season. Well done boys. 

Dougie Mcindoe

Day 4 - Tour Match v Carey Baptist Grammar School

After two days of hard football and early starts to the day the physical toll was starting to show on the students. The superb facilities of our hosts, Carey Baptist Grammar School, was just what the doctor ordered. A beautifully manicured pitch with a coat of Autumn dew was enough to get even the most jaded player in the mood for a friendly game of football. The girls unfortunately drew the short straw and had to contend with a dirt-covered cricket pitch in the middle of their pitch, but they slowly adapted to the conditions and played a brilliantly exciting match. Our hosts kindly provided some much enjoyed food at the end of the matches and we were then on our way to the home of Australian sport - the "G".

The MCG tour was broken up into two sections - a walk around the grounds (locker rooms, oval, members' area) as well as the museum in which all sports to have been played here were represented in some way. Surprisingly, there was an emphasis on Australian "no-rules" football. Victorians really are a crazy bunch. Seriously though, there can be little doubt that Melbourne is the sports capital of Australia, if not the world.

After the MCG tour the students got to enjoy the Melbourne city skyline via the Eureka Skydeck. In the meantime, I was given the task of finding a cake for our birthday boy, Jon Edwards. As a married man of some 18 years, I was reasonably confident that I had the appropriate skills to handle such a task. Clear instructions from Mrs Schreiber ("buy a cake") and the job was completed with the minimum of fuss.

Today we go to the Victoria Markets and play our final tour match against Camberwell Grammar before we watch the City v Reds A-League game. A scored draw would be very nice...


Open Girls

Today the weather was ideal for football. No rain and cool but comfortable. The field had a very muddy cricket pitch in the middle and was smaller than standard. The game plan was similar to others. Keep the shape, ball possession and placing emphasis on our first touch. 

In the first half the opposition started off well with good combination play in the defensive and middle third. They kept the ball away from us and used the width of the field very effectively. We struggled to keep up and went behind three times.  

Through hard work and a high press we forced a mistake out of the oppositions back two and Bella capitalised on this and scored a from a great shot.  

In the second half we kept the intensity of the high press in the middle third and the attacking third. This created a situation where the opposition became rattled. We took away space and time on the ball and started to play more quickly. This hard work allowed fantastic opportunities for our strikers. Bella scoring a hat trick with beautifully placed shots. One ending up in the left hand corner out of the goal keepers reach. Sami Gould was the other scorer from a rebound. Jessica once more bravely put her body on the line saving many shots and making it hard for the opposition to score.  

Overall the girls had a brilliant win with all players pitching in to display a game full of great strength and team cohesion. They came back from three to one, to win the game four to three. 

Mrs Schreiber & Ivor Nuñez

Development Squad

The third day of our tour saw us take on Carey Baptist Grammar School on a crisp Autumns morning, with the playing temperature around 16 degrees and the sun shining through. What more could we ask for!

Today we were working on controlled possession in the middle third as well as switching the play. Much like our other 2 previous encounters, goal scoring opportunities came thick and fast in the opening minutes. Superb play was seen in the midfield with John looking to switch the play as quickly as possible. This saw our first chance of the game when a perfectly hit through ball pierced CBGS's back four and played Hugh in behind. Hugh took a superb first touch and whipped the ball to the far post, where an outstretched Charlie missed connecting with the ball by centimetres. 

To the credit of CBGS, they played a very proactive based brand of football and rotated the ball around the pitch seamlessly. However, the Saints worked relentlessly to attain possession back off the throughout the entirety of the match. With some brilliant lead up play, CBGS took both chances that were presented to them during the half and went into the break with a 2-0 advantage.

Another special mention much go to Adam in goals who is having an outstanding tour. Without his strong presence in goals we would most certainly be conceding more goals than we would like. A few more chances were had by the Saints, however one of the better chances came in the 45th minute of the game, when a wicked cross was whipped into the 18 years box, where Charlie unfortunately was unable to keep the ball down and his header went dangerously close to piercing the back of the Grammar schools goal. 

In the last 10 minutes the flood gates opened, and through some very intense passing and movement from CBGS's team they managed to score another 3 goals. In the final 2 minutes, Callum tried to make a blistering run in behind their back four, however when the keeper came out to cut out the pass, Callum's foot became stuck in the ground resulting in him being flipped over the keeper. It was later found that Callum had unfortunately broken his collarbone. To his credit, it was great to see Callum play with such intensity right up until the final whistle. We hope you have a speedy recovery and look forward to seeing you back in the mighty maroon Saints strip very soon!

At the end of the game, the boys and I spoke about how the score line was not reflective of the game. To CBGS's credit, they took their chances, and unfortunately we did not. Football can be such a cruel game sometimes, but that's why we love it!

Our final game see's us travel to Camberwell College, where we look to finish off the tour with a very strong performance. Let's go Saints!

Mr Leong


1sts

After a big win, and a narrow loss, the saints first XI boys were keen to gain another win in the 3rd of 4 tour fixtures. 

An injury requiring an ambulance in the previous game delayed the kickoff, however once underway, it was evident that both sides had the capability to win the match.

Frantic play in the opening 10 minutes saw box to box football, with neither side really being able to gain a handle on the game.

Carey Baptist opened the scoring around the 20 minute mark, after a scrambled ball on the right wing was bounced back and magnificently drilled from outside the box into the bottom right corner - nothing Spencer "Neuer" Cook could do.

Shortly after however, the saints boys responded brilliantly; a pass from Jack Thompson found George, who delicately slotted an Özil-like through ball - cutting out 4 defenders before finding Rooney, who calmly placed it past the keeper.

The remainder of the first half was similar to the opening 10 minutes - hard work from both teams resulting in brilliant football being played. However, the game changed with crucial injuries to both Jack Thompson and Dougie Mcindoe, who were forced off.

The second half continued in a similar manner, but much to the annoyance of the saints boys, Carey Baptist scored again, this time a brilliant piece of dribbling followed by a cut back for an easy tap in; a great team goal. The startled saints boys recovered well, and continued to knock the ball round well, resulting in great attempts from Rooney, Tim Kraft, George, and debutant Nathan. However, much to our disappointment, the Carey boys acted on a counter attack with an outstanding volley - 3 great goals from a very strong team.

The game finished 3-1, with it being evident Carey Baptist's clinical nature in front of goal was the difference between the 2 sides. In saying this, the saints boys still had many positives to take from the game. Well done boys!

Dougie Mcindoe

Day 3 - Tour Match v Geelong Grammar & Kardinia International College

It was a welcome return to what I've been informed was typical Melbourne Autumn weather after the unexpected heatwave that greeted the teams yesterday. Although we have yet to enjoy the sheer delight of the truly typical Melbournian day in which all four seasons are on display, the rain and the wind still provided the students and staff with some worthwhile challenges, e.g. the deftness, speed and agility required in finding shelter when the inevitable showers came down. Still, if it was a choice between artificial turf and 28 degree heat versus a rain soaked and lush green oval where a sliding tackle would not result in 3rd degree carpet burns, then nature's own would probably just shade it. Surprisingly, the students also decided not to take up the offer of a swim at St Kilda in the afternoon.

The students were given a choice of some arcade game action or staying back at the hotel after dinner. Half the group took the former option in the hope of striking it lucky on the multitude of games on offer. The possibility of spending $50 to win thousands of tickets to then purchase $10 worth of rainbow sherbet was simply too big a temptation to resist. There was also the small matter of the air hockey rematch between Dougie "Arsenal" McIndoe and Mr "Liverpool" Ibrahim after the former's sudden death extra time win on Monday. When Dougie took a 6-1 lead it appeared to be all over with Mr Ibrahim heading for a humiliating defeat. But like that famous night in Istanbul, a comeback that seemed nigh on impossible was complete as the puck found its way in the goal with the match ending 7-6 in Mr Ibrahim's favour. As the evening at the games arcade drew to a close, all that was left was to cash in the tickets and pick up the booty - 100 or so rainbow sherbets. Good luck trying to sleep tonight!

Thursday will be another big day with games against Carey Baptist Grammar School in the morning followed by the MCG tour and a visit to the Eureka Skydeck.


Open Girls v Geelong Grammar

The weather in Geelong was cold and rainy. 

The plan for the day was mapped out in our match discussions. The aim was to keep shape and width to create angles going forward so we could get the team moving forward in possession and into the middle and final third as quick as possible.

In the first half, we started well and kept possession, playing through the opposition. Both teams had equal opportunities to score. Due to the cricket pitch and weather, we struggled to keep possession and pass more then three sequences. The play was inconsistent. 

In the second half the girls came out firing but could not put the ball away. The game was tense as both teams made similar errors in possession and had equal opportunities. Jessica pulled out three brilliant saves to keep us in the game. When the forwards got the ball they were dynamic and looked threatening. Our defenders struggled getting goal side of the oppositions fast paced forwards but did enough to clear the ball and old them out. 

Overall all the girls communicated well and continue to give each other positive support and productive feedback. We look forward to the game tomorrow and watching them continue in their football growth and gain valuable game experience. The score today was nil all. Go Saints!

Ivor Nuñez

Girls Football Coach

Development Squad v Kardinia

The second day of the tour saw us travel out to Kardinia International College on a bleak, wet and cold morning.

With tough conditions on hand the Saints played exceptionally well. In the opening minutes, numerous goal scoring opportunities were available for both teams. Much to our delight the first goal was scored by Jason, through some outstanding lead up play by the Saints around the 10 minute mark. 

In a see-saw game, Kardinia college fought back and took control of the game by keeping controlled possession on the ball and creating numerous shots on goal. If it hadn't been for Adam in goals again, we could have easily been 3 or 4 goals down by half time. However, the magnificent saves saw us going into half time with a 1-0 advantage. 

It was reiterated at half time that we need to complete basics in terms of passing, moving and keeping possession of the ball. A few more team and player tasks were set in order to fix a few of the problems we were having in the first half. 

The start of the second half saw us come out the more dominant of the teams, with the vast majority of the possession being kept by the Saints. Unfortunately a costly error at the back, and the resulting foul lead to a penalty kick being given to the opposition around 5 minutes into the game. Much to our dismay a Kardinia player stepped up to the spot and slotted the penalty into the bottom left corner.

The Saints fought back by switching the play repeatedly in order to move the opposition out of position. Unfortunately, Nathan and Jason were unable to finish any of these chances. Late in the half Charlie stepped up to take a corner after some outstanding lead up play down the wing. Charlie delivered a wicked low cross from the corner which managed to take a lucky deflection off the defender and into the goal to give the lead to the Saints 2-1. Not long after this, the referee blew the final whistle to give the Development team their first win of the tour.

Whilst it is nice to win, I have let the players know that it is more important that we develop not only as a team but as individuals and I believe in this game we achieved these goals. Players worked collectively to achieve the Team Task and players were able to achieve the individual tasks that I set them.

Our next match sees us travel to Carey Baptist Grammar School for what should be another intense battle! Come on Saints!

Mr Leong

1sts v Geelong Grammar

After a tough game the day before, the saints First XI were keen to redeem themselves, and hopefully, get a first win of the tour. 

From the outset, the saints boys dominated Geelong College in every aspect of the game; breaking the deadlock within the 5 minute mark, after a goalkeeper error, and a quick snapshot from Jack "Sturridge" Thompson. 

Quickly after this, an expertly whipped corner by Khoi Pham-Sultan, found the head of Nick Rooney, who calmly placed the ball into the net with his head. 2-0 saints. 8 minutes in. 

From here, the saints maintained the great pressure, and after a long period of possession, a silky through ball from Chris Meyer found the lethal Jack Thompson, and with a cool head, he slotted it past the keeper. 

Half time, 3-0 saints. 

Various changes at the halfway mark saw the introductions of Hunter Bland, Tim Kraft, and Jono Raymond, whom all continued the great football being demonstrated by the saints boys. 

Another goal from Jack Thompson in the opening minutes of the second half showed that the saints boys were on another level to Geelong College, and from here, the boys continued to dominate them.

Shot after shot, goal after goal (with the exception of Dougie Mcindoe, and his very unMessi-like shooting) saw the score fly to 11-0 at the final whistle, with goals from:
Nick Rooney (1)
Chris Meyer (1)
Dougie Mcindoe (1) - finally, after about 20 shots -
George Cummins (2) 
Jack Thompson (3)
Charlie Cunningham (3). 

Special mention must go to Charlie Cunningham, who absolutely dominated the opposition throughout the entirety of the game, bagging his 3 goals, and 4 assists! 

Despite the weaker opposition it was a masterclass performance from the saints boys, well done boys!

Dougie Mcindoe and Nathan Boreland

Day 2 - Tour Match v Fawkner College

Open Girls

After a long absence from game play because of the holidays, the girls played out the first half nervously and unsure. They were full of trepidation. To add to this, we were faced with a completely foreign playing service - artificial turf. 

This affects ball speed and bounce and passing accuracy and the decision making in the first half. It affected their PDE (how they perceive, decide, execute). 

During the first half, we played through them and created a couple of chances that we did not put away. We controlled the midfield and held our shape well. Because of this the other team had to resort to playing long balls and an odd bounce caught Jessica off guard. This happened on several occasions and they scored off this method twice. The score at half time was three nil.

During the break, in general as a team, we spoke about not panicking on the ball, keeping high and consistent intensity, using our wide players such as seven and eleven to give the team width. Individual player tasks were given as well. 

Having in mind that our halves were only 30 mins, during the second half, we kept them in their half of the field for 18 minutes. We scored a goal and had passages of play that started from Jessica ( keeper ) and we played through them without losing possession and nearly scored. The opposition midfield struggled to combine and create attacking opportunities. 

Overall in the second half the girls were able to absorb the instructions and delivered them effectively in the game.  The coach was happy. The team dynamics and structure was excellent and the more experience and match practice we have the better we will become. It is a pleasure coaching these young women.

On behalf of all the football girls team and staff we wish Sidney Hale all the best for a speedy recovery after knee surgery

Ivor Nuñez

Girls Tour Coach

Development Team

Today saw the development team play their first game against the home team John Fawkner College. JFC fielded a very strong side and to the credit of the Saints they fought hard for the entirety of the game. After some very good lead up play, the home team managed to slot their first goal of the game after 10mins. The Saints fought back very hard with some quick and tactile passing to create a few goal scoring opportunities. Much to our dismay, none of the chances were converted. Not long after the home team went on a brilliant counter attacking spree and managed to score 2 goals. To our credit though, a brilliant through ball was played to Nathan who made a mazy run between the opposition centre halves to slot our first and final goal for the game. Just before the half finished JFC managed to slot another goal, leading to the half time score being 4-1.

In the second half, a much more experienced JFC took their play to another level and scored 5 goals. It was a good learning experience for our gentleman on how to play a fast, explosive style of football. Credit must go to Adam in goals who made some outstanding saves throughout the game. Even though we failed to put our best foot forward in this game, I believe it was quite successful in terms of the achieving the team and players tasks I had set at the start of the game. 

In the next game we will look to build on our performance from this game and continue to set the bar high in terms of achieving team and player tasks. Bring on Geelong College!

Mr Leong

1sts

The mighty First XI squad kitted up and showed great excitement and enthusiasm prior to the first of four games on tour; this one being against John Fawkner College. 

From the outset, the boys demonstrated great control, and determination in the game - despite an astroturf surface. Dominating the opposition, pressing hard, and causing many turnovers, it promised to be a great competitive fixture between the schools.

The scoring was opened around the 15th minute mark, when George magnificently intercepted a pass around the half way mark. From here, he drove forward, finding the dangerous Thomas Piccirillo, who expertly skinned two defenders, before finding an in-form Jack Thompson on the edge of the box; who turned and finessed it calmly into the bottom left corner. 1-0 saints.

5 minutes later however, despite his great assist, Tom found himself on the wrong end of a controversial red card.

For the remainder you want of the first half, the saints boys demonstrated great work ethic and determination, and were able to maintain the 1-0 lead all the way to half time.

The opening minutes in the second half saw Neuer (Spencer) make 3 outstanding saves; resulting in several changes being made, and thus, causing the saints boys to take a more defensive strategy. From here the game developed into a more cage like game - both teams trying their best to pick apart the opposing defence.

The saints boys played brilliantly, however a lapse in concentration after a controversial non-penalty call for Jack Thompson, saw a long ball split our defence, and unfortunately equalise with 5 minutes remaining.

Unfortunately, this goal startled the saints boys, and another long ball saw the opposition score a winner in the dying minutes of the match.

Despite the unfortunate result, the boys walked off the pitch knowing they were the better side on the day - a great start to the tour!

Dougie Mcindoe and Nick Rooney

Day 1 - Arrival

The early morning start to the day coupled with a very informative and long walk through the city took its toll on both the students and staff with most happy to catch up on some must needed shut-eye when we finally got back to the hotel around 9:30pm.

The walking tour took in many of the quirky hidden treasures of Melbourne as well as some other places that we probably won't want to visit in a hurry! The stench of one of the laneways in Chinatown proved too much for some.

Some of the students tried their hand at spray painting; however it would be fair to say that their efforts (most simply sprayed their own names) didn't quite compare to the authentic paintings on show.

The students had some downtime in the games arcade immediately following dinner. Given how exhausted most of us were it was more impressive that we managed to stay awake for as long as we did. Air hockey proved to be one of the more popular activities with Dougie and Nathan proving too good against the more experienced pair of Lachlan and Mr Ibrahim.

After a fairly low-key start to the tour, I think it's fair to say that everyone is looking forward to stretching their legs in the first game against John Fawkner College on Tuesday.